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THE   PROPHET  AND   HIS 
PROBLEMS 


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*> 


THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS 


PROBLEMS 


BY 

J.   M.   POWIS  "smith,   Ph.D. 

AB80CIATB    PBOFE8SOR   OF   OLD   TESTAMENT   LANGDAGE   AND   LITEBATURE 
IN   THE   UNIVEB8ITT   OF  CHICAQO 


\ 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1914 


Copyright,  1914,  bt 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons 


Published  September,  1914 


TO   MY   WIFE 
CATHERINE   McKLVEEN   SMITH 

"  The  heart  of  her  husband  trusteth  in  her" 


PREFACE 

The  Hebrew  prophet  has  received  a 
new  interpretation  at  the  hands  of  mod- 
ern scholarship.  Prior  to  its  advent  he 
was  classified  as  belonging  to  an  alto- 
gether unique  species.  He  was  neither 
of  earth,  nor  of  heaven,  but  had  more  or 
less  tangible  connections  with  both.  He 
was  a  thing  to  be  admired — ^yea,  won- 
dered at,  but  not  to  be  understood.  His 
mental  and  spiritual  processes  defied  all 
analysis.  He  was  an  unfathomable  mys- 
tery. 

To-day  the  prophet  is,  in  one  sense,  as 
much  a  mystery  as  ever;  and  he  will 
remain  so.  Genius  always  eludes  defi- 
nition and  exposition;  and  religious  gen- 
ius is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  But  we 
have  come  to  see  that,  after  all,  the 
prophet  was  a  man  among  men.    He  was, 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

in  essence,  not  differently  constituted 
from  other  men.  Nor  was  he  vouchsafed 
a  monopoly  of  the  facilities  for  the  dis- 
covery of  truth  and  of  God.  This  brings 
him  nearer  to  us,  and  makes  his  experi- 
ences of  primary  interest  for  us,  because 
they  are  seen  to  be  such  as,  in  kind  at 
least,  are  common  to  men.  They  thus 
furnish  illumination  and  direction  to  the 
modern  man  in  his  effort  to  know  God 
more  fully  and  to  do  his  will  more  per- 
fectly. 

No  section  of  the  Old  Testament,  and 
but  little  of  the  New,  comes  so  close  to 
the  needs  of  our  day  as  does  the  pro- 
phetic literature.  Reading  it  in  the  light 
of  the  conditions  that  produced  it,  we 
cannot  but  feel  constantly  the  essential 
oneness  of  the  prophet's  problems  with 
our  own.  They  were  struggling,  and  at 
times  in  the  face  of  what  seemed  insuper- 
able diflBculties,  to  justify  the  ways  of 
God  to  men.  As  time  went  on,  these  dif- 
ficulties multiplied,  rather   than   dimin- 


PREFACE  IX 

ished.  Old  systems  of  thought  and  con- 
victions of  duty  had  to  be  abandoned, 
and  new  ones  formulated  in  the  heat  of 
the  conflict.  Religion  had  to  readjust 
itself  from  time  to  time  to  a  new  thought 
environment.  To  this  task  of  reinter- 
preting the  always  changing  phenomena 
of  the  world-life  in  terms  of  religion  the 
prophet  brought  all  his  powers.  Its  suc- 
cessful achievement  was  the  imperative 
need,  if  God  was  to  be  kept  supreme  in 
the  thought  of  men.  The  perpetuation  of 
Hebrew  religious  faith  and  its  continued 
development  in  Christianity  are  proof  of 
the  prophet's  success. 

To  a  generation  that  sees  many  of  the 
old  strongholds  of  religion  crumbling,  and 
finds  it  necessary  to  seek  surer  founda- 
tions for  new  structures,  the  story  of  the 
Hebrew  prophets  should  always  prove 
interesting  and  helpful.  They  have  much 
to  teach  those  who  are  called  upon  to 
build  after  them.  Their  example  of  un- 
blinking recognition  of  the  facts  of  life 


X  PREFACE 

is  a  stimulus  to  right  thinking,  and  their 
courage  in  the  presence  of  tremendous 
odds  inspires  faith.  Their  experience 
seemed  to  involve  much  pain  and  loss. 
But  on  the  contrary,  this  was  in  every- 
way much  gain.  The  old  customs  and 
dogmas  that  had  to  be  dropped  were 
but  obstructing  the  way  for  the  entrance 
of  larger  truth.  The  whole  story  spells 
progress.  It  cost  much  to  learn  the  new 
truth;  but  truth  paid  its  way  then  even 
as  now.  The  truth  proved  to  be  no 
enemy  to  faith,  but  the  enlarger  and 
strengthener  of  faith. 

This  Uttle  book  does  not,  of  course,  at- 
tempt to  tell  the  whole  story  of  prophecy. 
It  aims  rather  to  present  a  few  illustrative 
sections  of  that  story.  Through  these,  it 
is  believed,  a  general  point  of  view  re- 
garding the  prophet  and  his  work  may 
be  attained.  It  is  hoped  that  some  who 
read  these  pages  may  be  suflBciently  in- 
terested and  quickened  to  feel  a  desire 
to  fill  in  the  lacunae  by  more  detailed  and 


PREFACE  xi 

consecutive  studies.  Therefore,  a  list  of 
books  has  been  appended  for  those  who 
may  desire  to  go  further  and  learn  more. 
The  prophetic  writings  yield  rich  reward 
for  intelligent  and  faithful  study.  They 
show  us  Hebrew  religion  in  the  making 
and  they  point  the  way  to  God  for  all 
who  would  in  like  manner  make  their 
own  religion. 


CONTENTS 


I 

PAQB 

Prophets  in  the  Semitic  World    ...        3 


II 

Primitive  Hebrew  Prophets      ....      36 

III 

False  Prophets 59 

IV 

Prophetic  Prediction 87 

V 

A  Prophet's  Marriage 109 

VI 

The  Prophet  and  the  State     ....     137 

VII 

The  Prophet  and  the  Individual      .     .     168 

xiii 


xiv  CONTENTS 

VIII 


PAGE 


The  Prophet's  Religion 209 

APPENDIX 

A  List  of  Books  for  the  General 

Reader   235 

Index 239 


THE   PROPHET   AND    HIS 
PROBLEMS 


PROPHETS  IN  THE  SEMITIC 

WORLD  1 

For  a  long  time  prophecy  was  looked 
upon  as  an  exclusively  Israelitish  institu- 
tion, as  that  which  set  Israel  apart  from 
all  competitors  in  the  sphere  of  religion. 
This  point  of  view  was  inevitable  as  long 
as  the  opinion  prevailed  that  Israel  was 
*'the  peculiar  people,"  isolated  on  every 
side  from  the  world  about  her,  having 
connection  only  with  the  God  above  her. 
But  that  opinion  is  now  being  retired  into 
the  ever  more  thickly  populated  limbo  of 
outworn,  outgrown,  and  forgotten  dog- 
mas. It  is  impossible  for  the  historian 
any  longer  to  treat  the  Hebrew  nation  as 
a  thing  apart.    By  birth  the  Hebrews  were 

^  Reprinted,  with  revision  and  expansion,  from  The  Biblical 
World,  vol.  XXXV  CIQIO). 

3 


4   PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

members  of  the  great  Semitic  family. 
Nothing  pertaining  to  the  Semite  was 
wholly  foreign  to  the  Hebrew.  Semitic 
blood  flowed  in  Israel's  veins;  Semitic 
ideas  rounded  out  her  mental  horizon; 
Semitic  impulses  and  passions  furnished 
the  content  of  her  emotions.  Israel's 
whole  social,  intellectual,  and  spiritual 
background  was  through  and  through 
Semitic. 

Not  only  so,  but  at  one  time  or  an- 
other in  Israel's  experience  she  was 
V  brought  into  vital  contact  with  all  of  the 
great  civilisations  of  antiquity.  Egyp- 
tians, Hittites,  Assyrians,  Babylonians, 
Persians,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  all  in 
turn  made  their  contribution  to  Israel- 
itish  Ufe  and  thought.  The  great  out- 
standing and  enduring  feature  of  Israel's 
life  was  her  wiUingness  to  borrow  from  her 
neighbours.  No  nation  has  manifested 
a  greater  openness  of  mind  and  heart. 
Yet  there  was  nothing  of  slavish  depen- 
dence in  her  attitude.     She  exhibited  a 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  5 

wonderful  selective  power  in  the  things 
she  took  and  in  many  a  case  her  touch 
was  transforming.  It  is  now  generally 
recognised  that  not  a  single  institution 
of  Israel's  life  was  exclusively  Hebraic. 
Quantitatively  speaking,  that  which 
united  Israel  to  the  neighbouring  peoples 
far  outweighed  that  which  differentiated 
her  from  them.  Her  pre-eminence  was 
wholly  in  the  sphere  of  quality  and  de- 
gree. 

We  are  now  prepared,  therefore,  for 
consideration  of  the  proposition  that 
prophecy  was  shared  alike  by  all  the 
Semitic  peoples.  If  sacrifice,  priesthood, 
temple,  clean  and  unclean,  circumci- 
sion, Sabbath,  sabbatical  year,  atone- 
ment, fasts,  feasts,  sacred  pillars,  tera- 
phim,  blood-revenge,  oracles,  prayers, 
and  psalms  are  all  held  in  common  by 
the  Semitic  world,  why  should  we  ex- 
pect prophecy  to  form  an  exception? 

The  Old  Testament  itself  furnishes 
no  warrant  for  such  an  expectation  but 


6   PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

rather  gives  direct  evidence  of  a  contrary 
sort.  Balaam,  son  of  Beor  (Num.  22  :  5), 
though  a  prophet  of  Yahweh  (22  :  8), 
was  yet  quite  evidently  not  a  Hebrew, 
for  he  sought  oracles  to  the  detriment 
of  Israel  and  for  the  benefit  of  Midian 
and  Moab.  Even  the  Philistines  had 
"diviners"  (I  Sam.  6:2).  The  King 
of  Babylon  is  represented  by  Ezekiel 
(21  :  21)  as  employing  divination  by 
means  of  arrows,  teraphim,  and  the  in- 
spection of  the  livers  of  animals. 

When  we  extend  our  quest  beyond  the 
Old  Testament,  evidence  for  the  existence 
of  prophets  among  non-Hebraic  peoples 
multiplies. 

In  Assyrian  religion,  visions  and  ora- 
cles played  an  important  part,  constitut- 
ing a  "regular  means  of  communication 
between  man  and  the  gods."  ^  Oracles 
were  sought  by  Esarhaddon,  Ashurbani- 

'  M.  Jastrow,  Jr.,  Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  (1898), 
pp.  338  Jf.  and  379.  In  the  new  German  edition  of  this  work 
(completed  in  1912)  three  entire  chapters,  covering  833  pages, 
are  given  to  the  various  kinds  of  divination. 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  7 

pal,  and  the  kings  in  general  upon  all 
sorts  of  occasions,  public  and  private.^ 
By  means  of  them  the  kings  sought 
from  the  gods  guidance  and  light  upon 
the  outcome  of  their  plans.  The  func- 
tion of  the  seer,  diviner,  and  soothsayer 
in  Assyria,  therefore,  frequently  took  on 
national  significance,  thus  being  sugges- 
tive of  Israelitish  prophecy  in  its  higher 
development.  For  example,  when  Ash- 
urbanipal,  after  the  capture  of  Babylon, 
propitiated  the  outraged  gods  by  the 
purification  of  their  shrines,  it  was  done 
by  direction  of  the  guild  of  soothsayers. 
On  another  occasion,  Ashurbanipal,  just 
as  he  was  setting  out  for  a  campaign 
against  Elam,  poured  out  his  soul  in  sup- 
plication for  aid  to  Ishtar,  and  later  in 
the  same  night  was  comforted  by  re- 
ceiving a  revelation  from  her.  As  he 
himself  tells  the  story: 


*  Cf.  C.  D,  Gray's  translations  of  some  oracles  of  Esarhad- 
don  in  R.  F.  Harper's  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Literature 
(1900).  pp.  414  jf. 


8   PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

Toward  the  end  of  the  night  in  which  I  had 
addressed  myself  to  her,  a  seer  lay  down  and 
dreamed  a  dream;  and  Ishtar  showed  him  a  vi- 
sion of  the  night  which  he  related  to  me  as  fol- 
lows: "Ishtar  who  dwells  in  Arbela  entered  with 
her  quivers  hanging  down  on  the  right  side  and 
on  the  left.  In  her  hand  she  held  a  bow,  and  a 
sharp  war  sword  she  drew  from  its  sheath  and 
held  before  her.  Like  the  mother  that  bore  thee, 
she  speaks  with  thee,  she  calls  thee,  Ishtar,  the 
exalted  among  the  gods,  establisheth  thy  fate. 
.  .  .  Whither  thy  face  is  set,  thither  go  I. 
Thou  didst  say  to  her:  *  Whithersoever  thou 
goest,  will  I  go  with  thee,  O  queen  of  the  gods.' 
She  replied  to  thee:  *Thou  may  est  stay  here; 
where  the  shrine  of  Nabu  is,  eat  food,  drink  wine, 
make  music,  and  exalt  my  deity,  until  I  go  forth 
and  complete  that  work  and  give  thee  the  wish 
of  thy  heart.  Let  not  thy  countenance  pale  nor 
thy  feet  totter.'  In  her  good  mother-love  she 
hid  thee  and  protected  thy  whole  body.  Before 
her  will  a  flame  flash  forth,  and  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  thine  enemies  will  she  cause  it  to  go 
forth  abroad.  Against  Teumman,  King  of  Elam, 
against  whom  she  is  enraged,  has  she  set  her 
face."^ 

This  narrative  irresistibly  calls  to  mind 
the  corresponding  scene  when  Ahab  and 

» See  H.  Winckler.  Keilinschriftliche  BiUiotheh,  vol.  II  (1890). 
pp.  251/. 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  9 

Jehoshaphat  sought  to  know  the  will  of 
Yahweh  concerning  the  expedition  against 
Ramoth  Gilead  and  finally  called  in  Mi- 
caiah  ben  Imlah  (I  Kings  22  :  4<ff.). 

In  connection  with  the  revolt  of  Sha- 
mash-shum-ukin,  King  of  Babylon  and 
brother  of  Ashurbanipal,  the  following 
episode  is  narrated: 

At  that  time  a  certain  seer  was  lying  asleep 
during  the  night,  and  he  saw  a  vision,  thus:  On 
the  disk  of  Sin  {i.  e.,  the  moon)  there  was  written 
as  follows:  "Whoever  plots  evil  against  Ashur- 
banipal, King  of  Assyria,  and  begins  hostilities 
against  him,  I  will  send  an  evil  death  upon.  I 
will  bring  his  life  to  an  end  by  the  swift,  iron 
dagger,  the  firebrand,  famine,  or  the  devasta- 
tion of  Gira'*  (i.  e.y  the  pest  god).  I  heard  these 
things  and  I  trusted  in  the  word  of  Sin,  my  lord.^ 

A  badly  damaged  text  from  Ashurban- 
ipal's  famous  library  has  preserved  a 
prophecy  of  the  fall  of  Babylon  which 
is  especially  interesting  and  instructive. 
The  prophecy  perhaps  dates  back  as  far 

^  See  my  translation  of  the  "Annals  of  Ashurbanipal,"  in 
R.  F.  Harper's  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Literature  (1900), 
p.  108. 


10     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

as  the  fifteenth  century  B.  C.  and  ex- 
presses the  hope  and  confidence  of  As- 
syria regarding  the  fate  of  her  rival 
Babylon.  The  intelligible  portion  of  the 
inscription  reads  :^ 

In  the  conquest  (?)  of  Babylon 

The  builder  of  that  palace  will  suffer  harm  (?) : 

That  prince  will  experience  disgrace. 

His  heart  will  not  be  glad. 

During  his  reign 

Fight  and  battle 

Will  not  cease. 

Under  his  rule  one  will  devour  the  other; 

The  people  will  sell 

Their  children  for  money. 

The  lands  will  all  at  once  revolt  (?) ; 

The  husband  will  forsake  the  wife, 

And  the  wife  will  forsake  the  husband. 

The   mother   will   bar   her   door   against   the 

daughter. 
The  possession  of  Babylon 
Will  come  to  Subartu 
And  to  Assyria. 
The  King  of  Babylon 
Will  to  the  prince  of  Assyria  the  property  of 

his  palace 
And  his  possession  to.  .  .  . 

*  This  translation  follows  that  of  Ungnad,  in  Gressmann's 
AUorientalische  Texte  und  Bilder  zum  Alien  Testamente  (1909), 
pp.  75/. 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  11 

The  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  prophet, 
diviner,  or  soothsayer  was  always  of 
the  priestly  class  and  connected  with  a 
shrine,  therein  differing,  it  is  true,  from 
men  like  Amos  and  Micah  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  furnishing  an  exact  parallel 
in  this  respect  to  a  seer  like  Samuel, 
who  combined  in  himself  the  functions 
of  priest  and  prophet.  In  contrast  with 
the  higher  reaches  of  prophecy  in  Israel, 
the  prophets  of  Assyria  and  Babylon 
were,  for  the  most  part,  caught  in  the 
meshes  of  sorcery,  witchcraft,  magic,  and 
necromancy.  So  far  as  we  at  present 
know,  they  never  dealt  with  the  ills  of 
the  social  order  or  presented  themselves 
in  behalf  of  the  gods  as  ardent  champions 
of  the  poor  and  the  oppressed.  But  a 
new  inscription  may  at  any  moment  re- 
veal them  to  us  in  a  new  and  better 
light.^ 

^  For  other  examples  of  Assyrian  prophecy,  see  Peiser, 
Mitiheilungen  der  V order asiaiischen  Gesellschaft,  III  (1898), 
pp.  iolff.;  and  C.  H.  W.  Johns,  "The  Prophets  in  Babylonia." 
The  Interpreter,  April,  1906. 


n  ^  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

Another  close  parallel  to  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecy  is  furnished  us  by  the 
little  kingdom  of  Byblos,  in  northern 
Syria.  The  time  of  the  occurrence  was 
about  1100  B.  C.  The  occasion  of  the 
prophecy  was  an  embassy  from  Hrihor, 
high  priest  of  Amon  at  Thebes,  to  Za- 
kar-Baal,  prince  of  Byblos.  The  envoy 
Wenamon  was  commissioned  to  secure 
from  Zakar-Baal  sufficient  cedar  from 
the  Lebanons  for  the  building  of  a  new 
sacred  barge  for  the  god  Amon.  After 
various  delays  and  vicissitudes,  Wena- 
mon arrived  at  Byblos.^  Here  his  ill 
fortune  continued,  for,  having  come  in 
a  merchant  vessel  instead  of  in  a  royal 
ship,  and  lacking  the  usual  costly  gifts 
and  other  credentials  of  an  Egyptian 
envoy,  he  was  refused  recognition  by 
Zakar-Baal  and  was  ordered  to  return 
whence  he  came.  Notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  order  of  dismissal  was  re- 


^  For  the  full  story  of  the  expedition,  see  J.  H.  Breasted's 
Ancient  Records  of  Egyft,  vol.  IV  (1906),  pp.  274  jf. 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  13 

newed  every  day  for  nineteen  days, 
Wenamon  persisted  in  remaining  and 
urging  his  claim  upon  the  refractory 
prince.  At  last,  just  as  he  was  on  the 
eve  of  re-embarking  for  Egypt,  having 
already  sent  his  baggage  aboard  and 
waiting  only  for  the  darkness  that  he 
might  carry  the  image  of  his  discredited 
god  aboard  under  its  friendly  cover,  he 
was  requested  to  remain  and  was  granted 
an  interview  by  the  prince,  as  a  result  of 
which  he  was  able  to  carry  through  his 
mission  to  success.  The  reason  for  the 
sudden  change  of  heart  upon  the  part 
of  the  prince  is  told  by  Wenamon  as 
follows:  "Now,  when  he  (Zakar-Baal) 
sacrificed  to  his  gods,  the  god  seized  one 
of  his  noble  youths,  making  him  fren- 
zied, so  that  he  said :  ^  Bring  (the  god) 
hither!  Bring  the  messenger  of  Amon 
who  hath  him.  Send  him  and  let  him 
go.'  "  Thereupon,  the  King,  profoundly 
impressed  by  this  message,  summoned 
Wenamon  to  his  presence. 


14     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

The  points  of  resemblance  between 
this  episode  and  the  activity  of  the  He- 
brew prophet  are  clear.  There  is  the 
same  ecstatic  state  which,  as  in  Israel,  is 
attributed  to  divine  possession.  Further, 
the  prophetic  personage  is  apparently 
not  a  priestly  official  of  any  sort  but  a 
man  of  high  rank  at  the  court,  remind- 
ing us  somewhat  of  Isaiah's  position. 
Yet  again  the  prophet  does  not  fear  to 
run  diametrically  counter  to  the  royal 
will  in  bidding  the  King  be  courteous 
to  a  political  representative  whom  he 
has  thus  far  treated  with  the  greatest 
discourtesy.  Not  only  so,  but  the  proph- 
ecy comes  on  the  occasion  of  a  national 
crisis,  or  at  least  it  probably  seemed 
such  to  the  "noble  youth."  The  prophet 
fears  that  the  rude  dismissal  of  the  Egyp- 
tian envoy  may  involve  Byblos  in  war 
with  the  great  Egyptian  Empire,  for 
which  he  probably  entertained  a  much 
greater  respect  and  fear  than  did  his 
master,    Zakar-Baal.     He    broods    upon 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  15 

the  danger  of  the  King's  course  until  he 
is  impelled  to  speak  words  of  warning 
in  the  name  of  his  god  and  in  behalf 
of  his  country.  Here  we  approach  very 
close  to  the  heart  of  Hebrew  prophecy. 
Another  proof  of  the  activity  of  proph- 
ets in  northern  Syria  is  afforded  by  a 
recently  discovered  inscription  of  Zakar, 
King  of  La'ash  and  Hamath  about  800 
B.  C.  Zakar  was  attacked  by  a  coali- 
tion of  neighbouring  kings  and  was  in 
great  straits.  "Thereupon,"  as  he  him- 
self says,  "I  raised  my  hands  to  the 
Lord  of  the  heavens;  then  the  Lord  of  the 
heavens  heard  me;  [an  oracle]  the  Lord 
of  the  heavens  [sent]  to  me  through  the 
seers^  and  the  .  .  .  ;  and  the  Lord  of 
the  heavens  [said  to  me]:  Fear  thou 
not;  for  [I]  made  [thee]  King;  [I  will 
stand]  by  thee  and  rescue  thee  from  all 
[the  kings  who]  have  raised  intrench- 
ments    against    thee."     Here    again    we 

^  The  word  here  used  is  one  often  employed  in  the  Old 
Testament  to  describe  prophetic  vision  or  utterance. 


\ 


16     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

iSnd   "seers"   exercising   influence   upon 
public  affairs  in  the  name  of  the  gods. 

The  most  striking  parallels  to  Hebrew 
prophecy,  however,  come  from  Egypt. 
The  oldest  document  of  this  sort  so  far 
known  exists,  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  five 
copies — a  fact  attesting  its  popularity. 
It  has  recently  been  placed  within  the 
reach  of  English  readers  by  a  translation 
from  the  hand  of  Alan  H.  Gardiner,^ 
which  is  the  source  of  our  information 
here.  King  Snefru  {ca,  2900  B.  C),  after 
a  meeting  of  his  council,  requested  that 
some  one  be  brought  before  him  who 
could  while  away  the  time  with  interest- 
ing narratives.  Thereupon,  a  priest  of 
the  goddess  Ubast  was  produced,  who 
proceeded  to  set  forth  the  calamities  that 
must  befall  Egypt.  His  opening  words 
were:  "Up  my  heart,  and  bewail  this 
land  whence  thou  art  sprung."     Contin- 

*  In  The  Journal  of  Egyptian  Archaeology,  April,  1914. 
Gardiner's  rendering  is  based  upon  the  edition  of  the  text 
by  W.  Golenischeff,  viz.:  Les  papyrus  hieratiques  Nos.  1115, 
1116/4,  lllQB  de  UErmitage  ImpSrial  a  St.  Petersbourg  (1913). 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  17 

uing  in  this  strain,  he  depicts  the  land 
as  a  prey  to  internal  brigandage,  to  ir- 
ruptions of  Asiatic  nomads,  to  drying  up 
of  the  Nile,  and  to  civil  war.  "I  show 
thee  the  land  upside  down;  the  man 
weak  of  arm  is  now  the  possessor  of  an 
arm;  men  do  the  bidding  of  him  who 
once  did  other  men's  bidding.  I  show 
thee  the  undermost  uppermost.  Men 
live  in  the  NecropoUs.  The  poor  man 
will  make  his  hoard.  .  .  .  The  pauper 
eats  offering-bread."  But  after  this  reign 
of  terror  there  will  arise  a  King  the 
splendour  of  whose  reign  will  atone  for 
all  past  agony. 

There  is  a  King  shall  come  from  the  South, 
whose  name  is  Ameny,  son  of  a  Nubian  woman, 
a  child  of  Chen-Kliou.^  He  shall  receive  the 
White  Crown ;2  he  shall  assume  the  Red  Crown;' 
he  shall  unite  the  Two  Powerful  Ones;*  he  shall 
propitiate  Horus  and  Seth,''  with  what  they 
love.  .  .  . 

*  A  name  for  Upper  Egypt. 

2  That  of  Upper  Egypt.  ^  That  of  Lower  Egypt. 

*  The  two  goddesses  who  preside  over  the  double  crown. 

*  The  two  rival  brother  gods  between  whom  Egypt  had 
been  divided. 


18     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

The  people  of  his  time  shall  rejoice;  this  man 
of  noble  birth  shall  make  his  name  for  ever  and 
ever.  Those  who  turn  to  mischief,  who  devise 
rebellion,  shall  subdue  their  mouthings  through 
fear  of  him.  The  Asiatics  shall  fall  by  his  sword; 
the  Libyans  shall  fall  before  his  flame,  and  the 
rebels  before  his  wrath,  and  the  froward  before 
his  majesty.  The  Urseus  that  dwelleth  in  front ^ 
shall  pacify  for  him  the  froward. 

There  shall  be  built  the  wall  of  the  prince,  so 
as  not  to  allow  the  Asiatics  to  go  down  into 
Egypt,  that  they  may  beg  for  water  after  their 
wonted  wise,  so  as  to  give  their  cattle  to  drink. 
And  right  shall  come  into  its  place,  and  iniquity 
be  cast  forth.  He  will  rejoice  who  shall  behold 
and  who  shall  serve  the  King.  And  he  that  is 
prudent  shall  pour  to  me  libation  when  he  sees 
fulfilled  what  I  have  spoken. 

Another  source  of  our  knowledge  con- 
cerning prophecy  in  Egypt  is  known  as 
the  Leiden  papyrus  No.  344.  Though 
long  studied  by  Egyptologists,  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  text,  due  to  its  illegibility, 
obscurity,  and  fragmentary  character, 
was   so   great   that   not  until   the   year 


*  That  is,  the  serpent  symbol  worn  upon  the  brow  of  the 
Pharaoh  and  believed  to  be  likewise  worn  by  the  sun-god  Re. 
Its  function  was  to  protect  the  King, 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  19 

1903^  was  any  true  insight  into  the  nature 
of  its  contents  obtained,  and  even  then 
much  was  left  to  be  illuminated  by  fur- 
ther study.  But  in  the  year  1909  there 
appeared  from  the  press  a  study  of  this 
document  by  Alan  H.  Gardiner,  bearing 
the  title  Admonitions  of  an  Egyptian 
Sage  (Leipzig:  J.  C.  Hinrichs).  This 
work,  containing  text,  transliteration, 
translation,  and  introduction,  is  hence- 
forth the  editio  princeps.  It  renders  the 
text  of  the  papyrus  accessible  and  intel- 
ligible to  all  scholars.  Few  texts  can  be 
of  greater  interest  or  significance  to  the 
students  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  date  of  the  text  is  at  present  in 
large  measure  an  open  question.  Sethe 
assigns  it  to  the  Hyksos  period  {ca.  1675- 
1575  B.  C),  while  Gardiner  vacillates  be- 
tween this  date  and  the  period  between 
the  sixth  and  eleventh  dynasties  of 
Egypt  (2475-2160).     In  either  case,  the 

*  H,  O.  Lange,  "  Prophezeiungen  eines  agyptischen  Weisen," 
Sitzungsberichte  der  Koniglichen  Preussischen  Akademie  der 
Wissenschajten  (1903),  pp.  601-610. 


20     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

document  comes  from  a  period  centuries 
eariier  than  the  first  known  appearance 
of  prophecy  in  Israel.  The  contents  of 
the  document  make  it  evident  that  an 
individual  named  Ipuwer  is  represented 
as  delivering  a  long  and  impassioned 
discourse  in  the  presence  of  the  King  and 
his  courtiers.  What  the  occasion  was 
that  called  forth  this  speech  we  do  not 
know.  He  may  have  suffered  some  in- 
justice which  made  him  seem  to  himself 
to  be  the  typical  victim  of  an  admin- 
istration that  was  plunging  all  his  fel- 
low citizens  into  disaster  and  suffering, 
as  Gardiner  suggests,  or  he  may  have 
been  called  in  by  the  King  for  advice; 
or,  like  Amos  at  Bethel,  he  may  have 
gone  to  court  voluntarily,  driven  by  an 
inner  conviction  that  was  like  fire  in  his 
bones.  In  any  case,  he  hesitates  not  to 
lay  bare  before  the  eye  of  the  King  the  ter- 
rible wickedness  and  consequent  misery 
and  disaster  that  confront  the  observant 
citizen  on  every  side.     The  conditions  he 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  21 

describes  may  be  suggested  by  a  collec- 
tion of  some  citations  from  his  address:^ 

The  [doorkeepers]  say:  Let  us  go  and  plun- 
der. The  washerman  refuses  (?)  to  carry  his  load. 
A  man  looks  upon  his  son  as  his  enemy.  The 
virtuous  man  walks  in  mourning  (?)  on  account 
of  that  which  has  happened  in  the  land.  The 
wrong-doer  is  everywhere.  Plague  is  throughout 
the  land.  Blood  is  everywhere.  Crocodiles  are 
glutted  (?)  with  what  they  have  captured;  men  go 
to  them  of  their  own  accord.  Forsooth,  hair  has 
fallen  out  for  every  one.  Great  and  small  say :  I 
wish  I  might  die.  Little  children  say  (?):  He 
ought  never  to  have  caused  me  to  live  (?).  For- 
sooth, all  animals,  their  hearts  weep.  Cattle 
moan  because  of  the  state  of  the  land.  A  man 
strikes  his  brother,  (the  son)  of  his  mother.  The 
roads  are  guarded.  Men  sit  over  the  bushes 
until  the  benighted  (traveller)  comes,  in  order  to 
plunder  his  burden.  What  is  upon  him  is  taken 
away.  He  is  belaboured  (?)  with  blows  of  the 
stick  and  slain  wrongfully.  Forsooth,  grain  has 
perished  on  every  side.  (People)  are  stripped 
of  clothes,  spices  (?)  and  oil.  Everybody  says: 
There  is  none.     The  storehouse  is  ruined.     Its 


^  The  translation  of  A.  H.  Gardiner  is  used.  It  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that,  unless  otherwise  mentioned,  the  sen- 
tences grouped  together  here  and  in  the  following  citations 
do  not  follow  one  another  closely  in  the  papyrus,  but  are 
scattered  widely  throughout  the  document. 


22     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

keeper  is  stretched  upon  the  ground.     The  poor 
man  begs.  .  .  .     All  is  ruin. 

One  element  in  the  situation  that 
seems  to  overwhelm  Ipuwer  is  found  in 
the  apparently  almost  complete  subver- 
sion of  the  social  order.  This  is  depicted 
for  us  in  the  following  language: 

Forsooth,  poor  men  are  become  owners  of  good 
things.  He  who  could  make  for  himself  no  san- 
dals is  now  the  possessor  of  riches.  The  wealthy 
are  in  mourning;  the  poor  man  is  full  of  joy. 
Every  tongue  says:  Let  us  suppress  him,  the  pow- 
erful among  us.  Forsooth,  the  land  turns  round 
as  does  the  potter's  wheel.  Good  things  are  in 
the  land,  (yet)  the  mistresses  of  houses  say: 
Would  that  we  had  something  to  eat.  The  build- 
ers of  pyramids  have  become  field  labourers.  The 
son  of  a  man  of  rank  is  no  longer  distinguished 
from  him  who  has  no  such  father.  The  children 
of  princes  are  dashed  against  the  walls.  Those 
who  were  clad  in  fine  linen  are  beaten.  He  who 
was  a  (notable)  does  commissions  himself.  Noble 
ladies  suffer  like  slave  girls.  All  female  slaves  are 
free  with  their  tongues.  When  their  mistress 
speaks  it  is  irksome  to  the  servants.  She  who 
looked  at  her  face  in  the  water  is  possessor  of  a 
mirror.  Poor  men  come  and  go  in  the  great 
houses.    The  children  of  princes  are  cast  out  (?) 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  23 

in  the  streets.  He  who  knows  says  it  is  so.  He 
who  is  ignorant  says,  No.  He  who  does  not  know 
it  does  good  in  his  eyes.  He  who  could  make  for 
himself  no  coffin  is  (now)  (possessor)  of  a  trea- 
sury (?).  He  who  never  slept  upon  walls  (?)  is 
(now)  the  possessor  of  a  bed.  He  who  could  not 
build  himself  a  cell  is  (now)  possessor  of  walls. 
The  possessor  of  wealth  (now)  passes  the  night 
thirsting.  He  who  begged  for  himself  his  dregs 
is  now  the  possessor  of  bowls  full  to  overflowing  (?). 
The  possessors  of  robes  are  (now)  in  rags.  Behold 
the  poor  of  the  land  become  rich,  and  (the  pos- 
sessor) of  property  has  become  one  who  has 
nothing. 

An  extremely  serious  feature  of  the  sit- 
uation is  indicated  by  Ipuwer's  state- 
ments regarding  the  general  disrespect 
for  law.     For  example: 

Forsooth,  the  splendid  (?)  judgment-hall,  its 
writings  are  taken  away.  Public  offices  are 
opened  and  (their)  census  lists  are  taken  away. 
.  .  .  — [officials]  are  slain  and  their  writings  are 
taken  away.  The  laws  of  the  judgment-hall  are 
cast  forth;  men  walk  upon  (them)  in  the  public 
places;  poor  men  break  them  up  (?)  in  the  streets. 
Two  things  are  done  that  have  never  been  for 
long  time  past;  the  King  is  taken  away  by  poor 
men.  Behold  a  few  lawless  men  have  ventured 
to  despoil  the  land  of  the  kingship.     The  secrets 


24     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

of  the  kings  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt  are 
divulged.  Behold,  the  judges  of  the  land  are 
driven  out  through  the  land. 

One  striking  thing  about  the  speech  of 
Ipuwer  is  the  fact  that,  like  the  prophets 
of  the  Old  Testament,  he  apparently 
stands  in  no  awe  of  his  King  but  fear- 
lessly charges  him  to  his  face  with  being 
himself  responsible  in  large  measure  for 
the  prevailing  conditions.  He  addresses 
his  King  thus: 

Taste,  knowledge,  and  truth  are  with  thee. 
Confusion  is  what  thou  dost  put  throughout  the 
land  together  with  the  noise  of  tumult.  Behold, 
one  uses  violence  against  another.  People  con- 
form to  that  which  thou  hast  commanded.  If 
three  men  journey  upon  a  road,  they  are  found 
to  be  two  men;  the  greater  number  slay  the 
less.  ...  It  is  because  thou  hast  acted  so  (?) 
as  to  bring  these  things  about  (?).  Thou  hast 
spoken  falsehood.  .  .  .  Would  that  thou  might- 
est  taste  some  of  these  miseries.  Then  wouldst 
thou  say  .  .  . 

Apparently  he  charges  the  King  with 
having  been  subservient  to  the  will  of 
the  powerful  regardless  of  the  effect  of 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  25 

such  proceeding  upon  the  public  welfare. 
Speaking  to  the  King  directly,  he  says: 

To  be  ignorant  of  it  is  what  is  pleasant  in  their 
hearts.  Thou  hast  done  what  is  good  in  their 
hearts.     Thou  hast  nourished  people  with  it. 

To  add  to  the  horrors  of  the  situation, 
the  land  apparently  is  in  the  throes  of 
a  foreign  invasion.  Accompanying  this 
condition  of  material  and  moral  degen- 
eration, it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that 
Ipuwer  also  discerns  spiritual  decay. 
Men  are  doubting  the  existence  of  God 
and  acting  as  though  he  were  not.  "For- 
sooth, the  hot-headed  (?)  man  says:  if  I 
knew  where  God  is,  then  would  I  make 
ofiferings  unto  him." 

The  unfavourable  elements  in  this 
piece  of  literature  when  it  is  compared 
with  the  prophetic  writings  of  Israel  stand 
out  in  clear  relief.  A  polytheistic  religion 
lies  behind  all  of  Ipuwer's  statements. 
Magic,  at  least  when  performed  for  legit- 
imate ends,  is  accepted  as  commendable. 


26  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

and  an  exposure  of  its  secrets  is  deplored. 
As  reparation  to  the  gods  for  the  sins  of 
the  land,  the  prophet  prescribes  ritualistic 
performances  after  the  manner  of  Baby- 
lonia, rather  than  repentance  and  faith, 
as  was  the  wont  of  the  prophets  of  Is- 
rael.    Ipuwer  urges — 

to  fumigate  with  incense  and  to  offer  water  in  a 
jar  in  the  early  morning.  Remember  to  erect 
flagstaffs  and  to  carve  stelae,  the  priest  purifying 
the  temples  and  the  god's  house  being  plastered 
(white)  like  milk;  (remember)  to  make  fragrant 
the  perfume  of  the  horizon  and  to  perpetuate 
bread-offerings.  Remember  to  observe  regula- 
tions and  to  adjust  dates.  (Remember)  to  re- 
move him  who  enters  upon  the  priestly  office 
in  impurity  of  body  (?).  That  is  to  perform  it 
wrongfully.     That  is  corruption  of  heart  {?). 

Still  further,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
there  is  no  ringing  note  of  sympathy  with 
the  poor,  such  as  glorified  the  prophecy 
of  Israel.  The  Egyptian  prophet's  anger 
and  sympathy  are  aroused,  indeed;  not 
so  much,  however,  because  the  weak  are 
oppressed  as  because  the  established  or- 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  27 

der  of  society  is  overthrown.  Whereas 
the  Hebrew  prophet  was  the  champion 
of  the  poor,  the  Egyptian  is,  in  this  case 
at  least,  the  defender  of  law  and  order. 
It  is  unseemly  in  his  eyes  that  the  con- 
ditions should  be  reversed  as  they  have 
been  so  that  poor  and  rich  have  changed 
places. 

Yet  again,  there  is  an  almost  total 
lack  of  logical  order  in  this  prophetic  ' 
writing  as  it  has  come  down  to  us.  This, 
to  be  sure,  is  a  fault  shared  by  some  of 
the  Hebrew  prophecies,  but  it  is  not  a 
characteristic  of  Hebrew  prophecy  at  its 
best.  Repetition,  irrelevancy,  and  abrupt 
transition  are  unpleasingly  frequent  in 
Ipuwer's  discourse.  This  sort  of  thing 
compels  us  to  raise  the  question  whether 
or  not  modern  scholarship  has  gone  too 
far  in  its  demand  of  the  Hebrew  prophets 
that  they  give  us  smooth  and  logical 
discourses. 

Nor  is  there  apparently  any  sense  on 
Ipuwer's   part   of  a   divine  commission. 


N* 


28     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

He  makes  no  claim  to  speak  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  gods.  Unless  this  be 
entirely  due  to  the  fragmentary  char- 
acter of  the  narrative  from  which  sev- 
eral portions  are  lacking,  it  separates 
Ipuwer  widely  from  the  prophets  of 
Israel.  The  very  word  prophet  in  its 
Hebrew  home  designated  the  bearer  of 
that  name  as  spokesman  of  Yahweh. 
Their  influence  with  the  people  was 
largely  due  to  the  recognition  they  re- 
ceived of  their  right  to  declare  the  or- 
acles of  God. 

While  all  this  and  more  may  be  said 
in  the  way  of  unfavourable  criticism,  it  is 
none  the  less  true  that  the  resemblance 
to  Hebrew  prophecy  is  remarkably  close. 
The  unflinching  courage  shown  by  Ipu- 
wer in  pressing  home  upon  the  King  his 
responsibiUty  for  the  disastrous  state  of 
affairs  is  parallel  to  Nathan's  "Thou  art 
the  man."  The  entire  absence  of  the 
ecstatic  element  and  of  everything  in  the 
way  of  fanaticism  is  suggestive  of  He- 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  29 

brew  prophecy  at  its  best.  The  resolute 
exposure  of  the  ills  of  society  of  which 
the  narrative  is  full  is  in  keeping  with  the 
very  essence  of  Old  Testament  prophecy. 
Nowhere  else  in  the  Semitic  world  save  in 
Israel,  so  far  as  we  now  know,  was  there 
anything  approximating  this  study  of 
society  from  the  moral  point  of  view.^ 
Furthermore,  this  capacity  of  the  Egyp- 
tian to  detach  himself  from  the  social 
state  to  which  he  belonged  and  to  make 
the  society  of  his  day  the  object  of  his 
study  is  manifested  here,  in  any  case, 
centuries  before  anything  of  the  same 
sort  presents  itself  in  Hebrew  literature. 
Not  only  so,  but  it  is  quite  evident  that 
Ipuwer  was  not  the  first  in  Egypt  to 
strike  out  new  paths  in  social  study. 
His  work  presupposes  that  of  forerunners 
who  have  created  a  style  and  method  for 
him.  Here  is  a  man  who,  like  the  proph- 
ets of  Israel,  dared  to  assume  the  atti- 


^Cf.  J.  H.  Breasted,  "The  Earliest  Social  Prophet,"  The 
American  Journal  of  Theology,  January,  1910,  pp.  114  jf. 


30     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

tilde  of  a  judge  toward  his  own  genera- 
tion which  he  weighed  in  the  balances 
and  found  wanting.  When  we  remember 
that  this  was  the  supreme  function  of 
the  Hebrew  prophet  we  at  once  see  how 
important  this  point  of  contact  between 
Egypt  and  Israel  becomes.  It  is  a  fact 
that  immediately  raises  questions  as  to 
the  character  and  closeness  of  the  literary 
and  spiritual  relations  of  the  two  peoples. 
One  more  point  of  resemblance  must 
be  noted.  It  is  found  in  the  following 
portion  of  Ipuwer's  discourse: 

He  bringeth  (?)  coolness  upon  that  which  is 
hot.  It  is  said  he  is  the  herdsman  of  mankind. 
No  evil  is  in  his  heart.  When  his  herds  are  few, 
he  passes  the  day  to  gather  them  together,  their 
hearts  being  on  fire  (?).  Would  that  he  had  per- 
ceived their  nature  in  the  first  generation  (of 
men);  then  he  would  have  repressed  evil,  he 
would  have  stretched  forth  (his)  arm  against  it; 
he  would  have  destroyed  their  seed  (??)  and  their 
inheritance.  .  .  .  Where  is  he  (?)  to-day?  Is  he 
sleeping?     Behold,  his  might  is  not  seen. 

This  passage  has  occasioned  discus- 
sion among  Egyptian  scholars.     Profes- 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  31 

sors  H.  O.  Lange,  Ed.  Meyer,  J.  H. 
Breasted,  and  others,  claim  Messianic 
significance  for  it,  declaring  it  to  be  a 
prophecy  of  a  coming  prince  who  should 
rescue  and  heal  his  people,  restoring 
Egypt  to  her  old-time  place  of  pres- 
tige and  power.  A.  H.  Gardiner,  on  the 
other  hand,  presents  a  strong  case  for 
the  view  that  the  language  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  describing  the  activity  of  the 
god  Re,  the  creator  and  preserver  of 
mankind.  He  it  is  who  is  the  "herds- 
man of  mankind"  and  might  have  "per- 
ceived their  nature  in  the  first  genera- 
tion (of  men)"  and  might  have  brought 
the  race  to  an  end  and  so  have  avoided 
the  existence  of  the  present  evil  age. 
His  return  to  his  earth  will  restore  peace 
and  prosperity.  Whether  or  not  the 
speaker  refers  to  a  Messianic  prince  is 
uncertain,  as  a  matter  of  fact ;  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  Egyptian 
mythology  looked  back  to  Re  as  the 
first  King  and  that  all  succeeding  kings 


N. 


32  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

were  "sons  of  Re."  Hence  the  Egyp- 
tian Messianic  King  would  inevitably 
be  thought  of  as  a  reincarnation  of  Re 
and  might  thus  be  spoken  of  as  present 
at  the  first  origins  of  the  race.  Indeed, 
we  recall  that  the  book  of  Micah  speaks 
of  a  coming  Messiah  "whose  origins  are 
from  of  old,  from  ancient  time."  It  is 
to  be  noticed,  however,  as  Gardiner  re- 
minds us,  that  Ipuwer  does  not  predict 
the  coming  of  the  Messianic  ruler  but 
merely  gives  expression  to  his  longing 
that  such  an  one  might  appear.  Whether 
or  not  the  thought  is  concerned  with  an 
individual  Messiah  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  word,  the  context  is  too  uncertain 
to  determine.  But  it  is  perfectly  clear 
that  there  is  here  presented  a  longing  for 
the  coming  of  a  golden  age  such  as  that 
so  gloriously  depicted  and  so  confidently 
predicted  by  the  prophets  of  the  Old 
Testament.^     Furthermore,   the   passage 

*  For  other  examples  of  Egyptian  "prophecies,"  see  H. 
Ranke's  translations  in  Gressmann's  Altorientalische  Texte  und 
Bilder,  I,  pp.  202-210.     Cf.  Ed.  Meyer,  Die  Israeliten  (1906), 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  33 

quoted  on  pp.  17  /.  is  in  form  at  least  a 
prediction  of  a  coming  King,  who  shall 
bring  prosperity.  This  shows  that  the 
power  to  predict  was  acknowledged,  even 
if  the  prediction  here  should  be  one  only 
in  form. 

Finally,  what  is  to  be  said  regarding 
the  relation  of  Israel's  prophecy  to  that 
of  her  neighbours?  Certainly,  they  are 
not  indebted  to  Israel  for  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  for  non-Israelitish  prophecy 
antedates  prophecy  in  Israel  by  centu- 
ries. On  the  other  hand,  are  we  com- 
pelled to  say  that  Israel  derived  her 
prophecy  in  its  earliest  forms  from  her 
neighbours.^  There  seems  to  be  no  more 
reason  for  such  a  supposition  than  for 
the  ultimate  derivation  of  any  of  the 
other  Israelitish  religious  institutions  from 
abroad.  Prophecy  seems  to  have  been 
a  native  product  in  Israel  as  elsewhere 
in  the  Semitic  world.     Semites  all  alike 

pp.  451-455;  Maspero,  New  Light  on  Ancient  Egypt  (1909), 
pp.  228/.;  and  Cheyne,  Two  Religions  of  Israel  (1911),  pp. 
1-13. 


34  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

apparently  possessed  the  original  en- 
dowment of  the  prophetic  spirit.  But 
in  Israel  this  spirit  yielded  its  choicest 
fruit.  To  what  extent,  if  any,  Israel 
was  directly  influenced  by  her  neigh- 
bours in  general  and  Egypt  in  par- 
ticular in  the  development  of  her  pro- 
phetic gift  it  is  hazardous  to  say  in 
the  light  of  the  present  imperfection  of 
our  knowledge  concerning  the  commerce 
of  ideas  in  the  Oriental  world.  It  is 
very  probable,  however,  that  the  proph- 
ets of  Israel  knew  something  of  the  ac- 
tivity of  their  fellows  in  Egypt.  The 
only  thing  certain  is  that  up  to  the 
present  time  no  Oriental  nation  has  pro- 
duced anything  approaching  the  purity 
and  power  of  Hebrew  prophecy.  Israel's 
prophets  excel  even  those  of  Egypt  in 
the  nobility  and  simplicity  of  their  con- 
ception of  God  and  in  the  lofty  purity 
and  contagious  passion  of  their  ethical 
ideals.  Granting  Ipuwer  and  his  kind 
the  benefit  of  all  doubts,  still  they  fail 


SEMITIC  PROPHETS  35 

to  exalt  ethics  above  ritual  and  to  make 
it  the  supreme  concern  of  the  divine 
heart  and  mind.  Here  Amos  and  his 
followers  stand  without  a  rival. 


II 

PRIMITIVE    HEBREW    PROPHETS 

To  appreciate  the  Hebrew  prophet  at 
his  best  we  must  also  see  him  at  his 
worst.  Prophecy  did  not  make  its  first 
appearance  in  Israel  full-grown.  Behind 
the  prophets  of  the  classic  period  lay  a 
long  line  of  prophets  of  a  lesser  order. 
These  earlier  prophets,  humbly  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  their  greater  successors, 
remind  us  at  many  points  of  the  proph- 
ets of  Babylonia,  Assyria,  Egypt,  Syria, 
Phoenicia,  Philistia,  Greece,  and  Rome. 
They  all  alike  share  in  a  common  ex- 
perience. The  glory  of  Israel's  proph- 
ets is  that,  coming  up  through  this 
common  experience,  they  were  not  con- 
tent   to   abide   there   but  passed  on  in 

36 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  37 

splendid  isolation  to  better  and  diviner 
things. 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  be  looking 
at  the  beginnings  of  prophecy  in  Israel. 
The  best  path  to  the  understanding  of  a 
people  or  an  institution  is  by  way  of  its 
history.  We  cannot,  within  the  scope 
and  purpose  of  this  volume,  trace  the 
history  of  prophecy  from  beginning  to 
end,  but  we  can  at  least  "look  into  the 
rock  whence  (they)  were  hewn  and  to 
the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  (they)  were 
digged."  Fortunately  we  have,  pre- 
served in  some  of  the  older  strata  of 
the  Old  Testament,  survivals  of  the  older 
type  of  prophecy,  and  to  these  we  now 
direct  our  attention. 

The  asses  of  Kish,  a  well-to-do  farmer 
of  Benjamin,  had  gone  astray.  Kish 
sent  his  son  Saul  with  one  of  the  ser- 
vants to  find  them.  After  three  days  of 
fruitless  search,  Saul,  fearing  lest  his 
father  become  alarmed  by  his  long  ab- 
sence,  proposed   to   return   home.     But 


38  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  servant  called  his  attention  to  the 
fact  that  they  were  at  the  home  of  "a 
man  of  God"  of  great  reputation  as  an 
infallible  soothsayer,  and  suggested  con- 
sulting him  regarding  the  lost  animals. 
To  this  Saul  assented,  but  reminded  his 
servant  that  they  had  no  gift  for  the  man 
of  God.     The  servant,  however,  removed 
all  diJBSculty  by  producing  "a  fourth  part 
of  a  shekel  of  silver"  which  might  be 
given  in  return  for  the  desired  informa- 
tion (I  Sam.  9  :  1-10).     Aside  from  the 
fact  that  the  ''man  of  God"  in  question 
is  Samuel  and  that  apparently  he  was 
of  only  local  reputation,  being  unknown 
to  Saul,  whose  home  was  not  so  far  away, 
the  interest  of  this  episode  for  us  lies  in 
the  conception  of  a  "man  of  God"  evi- 
dently entertained  by  both  Saul  and  the 
servant  and  manifestly  the  common  view 
of  the  times.     He  is  one  to  whom  men 
go  for  the  solution  of  their  hard  prob- 
lems, which  he  by  reason  of  his  relations 
with  the  unseen  world  is  thought  to  be 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  39 

able  to  solve.  But  he  must  be  paid  for 
his  services.^  He  is  a  "seer,"  gifted  with 
"second  sight."  When  Ahab  and  Je- 
hoshaphat  ask  counsel  of  the  four  hun- 
dred prophets  regarding  the  advisability 
of  a  campaign  against  Ramoth-Gilead 
(I  Kings  22  :  5/.)  they  are  crediting  the 
prophets  with  exactly  the  same  kind  of 
insight  that  SauFs  servant  attributed  to 
Samuel.  Such  power  to  pry  into  the 
future  or  to  discover  that  which  is  hid-  ^ 
den  and  lost  has  been  ascribed  to  proph- 
ets and  seers  the  world  over. 

When  Saul  departed  from  Samuel, 
having  obtained  what  he  went  for  and 
a  call  to  the  kingship  besides,  he  met 
a  "company  of  prophets  coming  down 
from  the  high  place  with  a  psaltery  and 
a  timbrel  and  a  pipe  and  a  harp  before 
them,"  and  prophesying  as  they  came 


*  The  same  point  of  view  appears  in  II  Kings  8  :  8/.,  where 
Hazael  is  said  to  have  taken  a  present  with  him  when  he 
went  to  consult  Elisha  in  behalf  of  Benhadad;  and  also  in 
I  Kings  14  :  Iff.,  where  Jeroboam's  wife  goes  similarly  pre- 
pared to  consult  Ahijah. 


40  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

along;  and  "the  spirit  of  God  came 
mightily  upon  Saul  and  he  prophesied 
among  them"  (I  Sam.  10  :  5-10).  This 
is  suggestive  of  a  Salvation  Army  pro- 
cession or  of  a  band  of  whirling  der- 
vishes. The  prophets  are  prophesying 
en  masse  as  they  march  along  to  the 
accompaniment  of  music.  What  sort 
of  "prophecy"  can  it  have  been?  Were 
they  indulging  in  chorus  singing?  Or 
were  they  howling  forth  short  phrases 
in  unison,  something  like  war-cries  or 
campaign  slogans?  Or  were  they  sim- 
ply in  a  state  of  uncontrollable  frenzy 
suggestive  of  a  certain  type  of  modern 
camp-meeting? 

The  fact  that  these  early  prophets 
lived  and  worked  in  groups  and  not  as 
individuals  finds  further  support  in  sev- 
eral passages.  We  at  once  think  of  the 
four  hundred  prophets  called  upon  for 
oracles  by  Ahab  and  Jehoshaphat.  We 
recall,  likewise,  "the  company  of  the 
prophets  prophesying"  with  Samuel  at 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  41 

Naioth  in  Ramah  (I  Sam.  19  :  20),  the 
groups  of  prophets  at  Bethel  (II  Kings 
2  :  3)  and  at  Jericho  (II  Kings  2:5, 
7,  15)  who  warned  EUsha  of  the  impend- 
ing departure  of  EHjah,  the  band  of 
prophets  who  were  enlarging  their  quar- 
ters when  one  of  them  lost  his  axe  head 
(II  Kings  6  :  1-7),  and  the  guild  of 
the  prophets  at  Gilgal  for  whom  Elisha 
healed  the  pottage  (II  Kings  4  :  38-41). 
In  this  connection  we  may  note  that  the 
term  "sons  of  the  prophets"  is  not  to 
be  taken  too  literally.  The  term  "son" 
has  a  very  wide  usage  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. It  designates  not  only  blood- 
relationships  but  in  a  very  large  num- 
ber of  cases  a  quality  or  characteristic. 
For  example,  "sons  of  the  exile"  =  ex- 
iles (Ezra  4:1);  "sons  of  strangeness" 
=  foreigners  (Gen.  17:27);  "son  of 
strength"  =  mighty  man  (I  Sam.  14  :  52); 
"and  Noah  was  a  son  of  five  hundred 
years"  =  was  five  hundred  years  old 
(Gen.  5  :  22).     In  the  same  way   "sons 


42  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

of  the  prophets"  are  men  endowed  with 
the  prophetic  spirit,  members  of  the  pro- 
phetic group. 

The  use  of  musical  instruments  by 
these  prophets  is  noteworthy.  For  what 
purpose  was  this  music?  Was  it  to  fur- 
nish a  suitable  accompaniment  to  their 
poetic  strains?  Or  was  it  to  aid  in 
arousing  the  prophetic  passion?  That 
the  latter  hypothesis  is  correct  seems 
practically  certain.  In  II  Kings  3  :  6-20 
we  read  that  when  Jehoram  of  Israel  and 
Jehoshaphat  of  Judah  in  their  campaign 
against  Moab  came  into  diflSculty  they 
sought  to  learn  the  will  of  Yahweh 
through  Elisha.  Now,  Elisha  was  not 
in  the  mood  for  prophecy  just  then; 
hence  he  said:  "Bring  me  a  minstrel." 
"And  it  came  to  pass  when  the  minstrel 
played,  that  the  hand  of  Yahweh  came 
upon  him.  And  he  said.  Thus  saith 
Yahweh"  (3  :  15/.).  The  divine  affla- 
tus here  was  evidently  superinduced  by 
the  strains  of  the  music.     We  find  some- 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  43 

thing  analogous  to  this  in  the  use  of 
music  in  certain  of  the  reHgious  exercises 
of  the  Mohammedan  dervishes,  which 
adds  much  to  the  nervous  tension  and 
greatly  accentuates  the  high-strung  emo- 
tions of  the  participants.^  The  use  of 
music  by  David  to  soothe  the  troubled 
spirit  of  the  insane  Saul  belongs  in  the 
same  category. 

It  appears  from  all  this  that  these 
early  prophets  were  peculiarly  subject  to 
attacks  of  ecstatic  frenzy  and  that  this 
had  much  to  do  with  their  recognition  as 
prophets.  Mohammedan  dervishes,  by 
means  of  music,  certain  rhythmical 
breathing  exercises,  and  other  methods  of 
self -incitement,  produce  a  state  of  more  or 
less  ecstatic  trance  at  will.^  In  groups  of 
more  or  less  extent,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, the  rapid  spread  of  a  state  of  feel-  . 
ing  throughout  a  company  is  a  well- 
known  fact.     Many  a  man  carried  away 

»  Cf.  D.  B.  Macdonald,  Aspects  of  Islam  (1911),  pp.  163/.; 
ef.  pp.  48-50. 

*  Cf.  D.  B.  Macdonald,  op.  cit.t  pp.  50,  93. 


44  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

by  the  psychology  of  the  mob  has  done 
deeds  of  which  he  himself  in  isolation 
would  have  been  incapable.  But  the 
mob  spirit  is  contagious;  it  is  difficult 
to  resist  its  power.  Exactly  in  the  same 
way  does  prophecy  seem  to  have  been 
contagious.  Saul,  confronted  by  the  pro- 
cession of  prophets  prophesying,  himself 
is  seized  by  the  prophetic  spirit  and 
joins  their  ranks. 

A  still  more  notable  illustration  of  this 
contagion  of  prophecy  is  furnished  by 
I  Sam.  19  :  20-24.  David  had  fled  from 
Saul,  who  sought  his  life,  to  Samuel  in 
Ramah.  Saul  sent  a  company  of  mes- 
sengers to  seize  David  and  bring  him  to 
his  presence.  But  David  was  surrounded 
by  "the  company  of  the  prophets  proph- 
esying," and  when  the  messengers  saw 
them  they,  too,  prophesied.  This  pro- 
phetic seizure  befell  three  companies  of 
messengers  in  succession.  At  last  Saul 
went  after  David  in  person  and  he,  too, 
fell  a  victim  to  the  prophetic  ecstasy  in 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  45 

that  "he  also  stripped  off  his  clothes  and 
he  also  prophesied  before  Samuel  and 
lay  down  naked  all  that  day  and  all  that 
night."  Few  episodes  reveal  to  us  more 
vividly  the  crudeness  of  the  religion  of 
these  early  prophets  and  the  limitations 
of  their  conception  of  God. 

Two  other  facts  point  to  the  ecstatic 
character  of  early  prophecy.  The  first 
is  recorded  in  II  Kings  9 :  1-13.  Elisha 
sent  "one  of  the  sons  of  the  prophets" 
to  anoint  Jehu  King  over  Israel.  The 
messenger  found  Jehu  in  the  midst  of 
a  group  of  captains  at  Ramoth-Gilead. 
Calling  Jehu  apart,  he  fulfilled  his  mis- 
sion and  left.  Upon  Jehu's  return  to 
his  friends  they  asked  him:  "Is  all  well? 
Wherefore  did  this  mad  fellow  come  to 
thee?"  The  prophet  is  thus  classed  by 
them  as  an  insane  person.  The  second 
fact  is  along  the  same  line.  In  Jer. 
29  :26  the  terms  "mad"  and  "prophet" 
are  coupled  together  in  the  description 
of  men  like  Jeremiah.     The  ancient  Se- 


46     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

mitic  attitude  toward  the  insane  was  one 
of  fear.  It  was  due  to  the  behef  that 
such  persons  were  the  victims  of  spirits 
that  had  possession  of  their  bodies  and 
had  estabhshed  residence  therein.  "An 
evil  spirit  from  Yahweh  was  upon  Saul" 
and  was  held  responsible  for  his  fits  of 
madness  (I  Sam.  16  :  14;  19  :  9).  The 
New  Testament  belief  that  such  unfortu- 
nates were  possessed  of  devils  {cf,  Luke 
8 :  27-40)  shows  how  the  ancient  diagnosis 
persisted  all  through  the  centuries.  A 
prophet  also  was  one  possessed.  But 
whereas  others  might  be  possessed  of 
demons,  he  was  possessed  of  the  spirit 
of  God.  A  common  way  of  describing 
the  prophetic  seizure  was  "the  spirit  of 
God  came  upon  him"  (I  Sam.  10  :  6; 
11  :  6;  19  :  19/.,  23;  cf,  II  Kings 
3  :  15).  The  spirit  of  God  in  such 
phrases  is  evidently  thought  of  as  just 
as  tangible,  real,  definite,  and — we  might 
almost  say — concrete  as  were  the  spirits  of 
another  order  which  aflSicted  the  insane. 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  47 

This  element  of  ecstasy  due  to  seizure 
by  the  divine  spirit  was  a  trait  common 
to  all  Semitic  prophets,  at  least  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  development  of  the 
various  prophetic  orders.  It  is  a  part 
of  the  splendour  of  Hebrew  prophecy 
that  it  so  completely  threw  off  the  more 
crass  conceptions  and  manifestations  due 
to  this  belief.  Never  letting  go  of  the 
fundamental  and  essential  fact  that  the 
prophet  was  the  mouthpiece  of  God, 
Hebrew  prophecy  at  its  best  almost 
wholly  repudiated  ecstasy,  trance,  and 
fanaticism  and  abandoned  all  efforts  to 
superinduce  such  experiences.  An  ex- 
amination of  the  writings  of  the  great 
prophets  for  phenomena  of  this  sort 
warrants  the  statement  that  the  greater 
the  prophet  was  the  less  recourse  did  he 
have  to  such  extraneous  support  for  his 
message.  In  Amos,  Hosea,  Micah,  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  and  Deutero-Isaiah,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  visions,  experiences  of 
an  ecstatic  order  are  conspicuous  by  their 


48     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

absence..  The  greatness  of  a  religious 
experience  may  well  be  determined  by 
the  things  that  it  discards. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  early  Hebrew 
prophets  were  as  crude  and  primitive  as 
the  foregoing  pages  seem  to  imply,  what 
could  they  contribute  to  the  religion  of 
their  times?  To  answer  this  question  we 
need  to  bring  before  our  minds  the  sit- 
uation amid  which  these  prophets  hved 
and  laboured.  Yahweh  and  Israel  were 
strangers  in  a  strange  land.  That  land 
was  already  tenanted  by  other  gods  with 
their  peoples.  The  Baalim  and  the  Ca- 
naanites  were  there  first.  The  task  con- 
fronting Yahweh  and  his  people  was  that 
of  making  good  their  foothold  and  en- 
larging their  sphere  of  occupation  and 
influence.  This  was  an  undertaking  re- 
quiring time.  The  process  was  not  in 
any  sense  completed  until  the  reign  of 
David;  and  even  then  much  territory 
in  the  field  of  religion  remained  unsub- 
dued.    The  relations  between   the  resi- 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  49 

dent  Canaanites  and  the  immigrant  He- 
brews were  not  uniformly,  everywhere 
and  always,  the  same.  In  some  places 
and  at  some  times  there  was  a  process 
of  peaceful  amalgamation,  with  the  two 
peoples  living  side  by  side  and  learning 
each  other's  ways.  In  other  places  and 
at  other  times  there  was  war  to  the 
death  between  the  two.  In  either  case 
the  prophets  of  Yahweh  were  called 
upon  to  render  invaluable  service. 

When  peaceful  relations  prevailed,  the 
danger  to  Yahweh  and  Israel  alike  was 
that  they  would  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
life  of  Canaan,  even  as  the  captives  from 
Samaria  in  721  B.  C.  were  lost  in  the  life 
of  Assyria.  Nomads  from  the  desert 
had  everything  to  learn  regarding  the 
agricultural  life  of  Canaan.  The  Ca- 
naanites themselves  were,  of  necessity, 
their  teachers.  The  civilisation  of  Ca- 
naan flourished  under  the  banner  of  the 
Baalim.  To  learn  that  civilisation  was 
to  learn  Baalism,  too.     The  Baalim  were 


50  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  gods  of  the  land.  Yahweh  was  an 
interloper.  They  supphed  all  the  needs 
of  the  Canaanites;  why  should  they  not 
function  in  the  same  way  for  the  Israel- 
ites? The  processes  of  agriculture  were 
under  their  auspices.  What  could  Yah- 
weh, the  god  of  the  desert,  know  about 
crops?  If  Yahweh  is  to  preserve  his 
hold  upon  the  confidence  of  his  people, 
he  must  take  over  to  himself  the  func- 
tion heretofore  discharged  by  the  Baalim. 
If  the  necessities  of  daily  life  are  looked 
upon  as  gifts  of  the  Baalim,  Yahweh 
must  inevitably  fade  out  of  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  people.  How  real  the  prob- 
lem was  and  how  long  the  struggle  be- 
tween the  opposing  gods  lasted  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  this  very  question  en- 
gages the  attention  of  the  prophet  Hosea 
as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century 
B.C. 

Plead  with  your  mother,  plead; 
For  she  is  not  my  wife, 
Nor  am  I  her  husband; 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  51 

That  she  put  away  her  harlotry  from  her  face. 

And  her  adultery  from  between  her  breasts; 

Lest  I  strip  her  naked. 

And  set  her  as  in  the  day  of  her  birth. 

And  make  her  like  a  wilderness. 

And  set  her  like  a  dry  land. 

And  slay  her  with  thirst. 

And  her  sons  I  will  not  pity. 

For  sons  of  harlotry  are  they. 

For  their  mother  has  played  the  harlot; 

She  that  conceived  them  has  acted  disgrace- 

fully; 
For  she  said,  "I  will  go  after  my  lovers. 
Who  give  me  my  bread  and  my  water. 
My  wool  and  my  flax,  my  oil  and  my  drink." 

And  she  did  not  know 

That  it  was  I  who  gave  her 

The  corn,  the  new  wine,  and  the  oil; 

And  that  I  multiplied  for  her  silver 

And  gold — ^which  they  used  for  the  Baalim. 

Therefore  I  will  take  back 

My  corn  in  its  time  and  my  new  wine  in  its 

season. 
And  I  will  snatch  away  my  wool  and  my  flax. 
Which  were  to  cover  her  nakedness. 

(Hosea2:  4-7,  10/.) 

The  early  prophets  met  this  danger  at 
its  worst.  They  were  stanch  adherents 
of  Yahweh  and  stood  unflinchingly  for 


52     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

absolute  loyalty  to  him  on  the  part  of 
his  own  people.  Over  against  the  lux- 
ury and  sensuousness  of  the  Baalistic  civ- 
ilisation of  Canaan,  they  set  the  simple 
and  stern  ideals  of  the  desert.  They 
opposed  every  step  in  the  direction  of  civ- 
ilisation as  a  departure  from  Yahwism 
toward  Baalism.  So,  in  the  midst  of  a 
life  that  constantly  threatened  Yahweh 
with  extinction,  the  prophets  stood  as  the 
champions  of  a  purer  type  of  religion, 
striving  to  hand  down  "the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints"  and  to  keep  this 
primitive  Yahwism  pure  and  unspotted 
from  the  world  of  Baalism. 

In  so  far  as  the  efforts  of  the  prophets 
were  directed  toward  arresting  the  prog- 
ress of  civilisation  in  Israel,  they  were, 
of  course,  doomed  to  failure.  The  forces 
opposed  to  them  were  irresistible  and  in 
line  with  the  eternal  purpose.  The  prim- 
itive ideas  of  the  desert  could  not  meet 
the  needs  of  those  dwelling  on  farms  and 
in  cities.     The  narrow  and  undeveloped 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  53 

life  of  nomads  must  be  expanded  and 
enriched  before  it  would  appeal  to  the 
culture  of  the  world.  The  god  of  hunt- 
ers and  herders  could  never  suffice  for 
farmers  and  traders.  Change  and  growth 
were  indispensable  to  continued  useful- 
ness. But  while  the  prophets  were  thus 
in  part  failures,  they  were  in  a  larger 
measure  gloriously  successful.  They 
acted  as  a  conserving  element.  They 
kept  matters  from  going  too  fast. 
They  guided  the  movement  in  the  right 
direction  and  did  their  part  in  making 
Yahweh  and  his  will  the  dominating 
force  in  Israel.  They  stood  for  Yahweh 
as  the  supreme  God  and  they  refused  to 
lend  his  sanction  to  acts  of  oppression,  in- 
justice, cruelty,  and  sensuality.  In  early 
days,  therefore,  the  prophets  laid  firm 
foundations  for  the  lofty  ethical  and 
spiritual  conception  of  God,  which  later 
came  to  enrich  the  life  of  the  world. 

When  friction  set  in  between  the  Ca- 
naanites  and   Israelites,   as  it  so  often 


54  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

did,  these  early  prophets  proved  the 
saviours  of  their  people.  Then  it  be- 
came necessary  to  arouse  enthusiasm  for 
Yahweh  and  to  insist  upon  unswerv- 
ing loyalty  to  him.  The  common  adher- 
ence to  Yahweh  and  the  common  need 
were  the  main  influences  in  producing  the 
measure  of  co-operation  among  the  vari- 
ous Israelite  groups  that  obtained  in 
times  of  crisis.  In  leading  the  war  prop- 
aganda the  prophets  were  second  to 
none.  The  existence  of  Israel  was  at 
stake  and  with  it  was  involved  the  exis- 
tence of  Yahweh.  The  god  and  his  peo- 
ple must  stand  or  fall  together.  The 
wars  of  Israel  were  the  wars  of  Yahweh. 
The  activity  of  the  prophets  along  these 
patriotic  lines  was  hardly  of  less  value 
than  that  of  the  military  leaders.  The 
interests  of  religion  were  here  identical 
with  the  interests  of  patriotism  and  each 
reinforced  the  other. 

An  excellent  illustration  of  all  this  is 
furnished  by  Judges  5,  a  poem  reciting  the 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  55 

story  of  the  last  great  military  struggle 
between  Canaanites  and  Israelites.  The 
prophetess  Deborah  stands  alongside  of 
the  general  Barak.  The  victory  is  cele- 
brated as  a  great  triumph  for  Yahweh. 
The  Israelites  who  ''came  not  to  the 
help  of  Yahweh,  to  the  help  of  Yahweh 
against  the  mighty,"  are  denounced  and 
cursed;  those  "that  offered  themselves 
willingly"  are  praised  and  highly  exalted. 
The  contribution  of  Deborah  in  the  way 
of  stimulus  to  faith  and  courage  was  all 
that  made  the  victory  possible.  Without 
her  or  some  other  similarly  loyal  and  en- 
thusiastic spokesman  for  Yahweh,  Israel 
would  have  submissively  endured  oppres- 
sion and  ultimately  perished  from  among 
the  nations. 

The  labours  of  the  prophets  were  of 
the  same  kind  and  of  no  less  importance 
when  struggles  set  in  for  the  mastery  of 
the  land  between  Israel  and  neighbour- 
ing peoples,  e.  g,,  PhiHstia,  Moabites,  and 
Aramaeans.     In  the  great  struggle  with 


56     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  Philistines,  the  leading  figure  of  the 
early  stages  was  Samuel  the  seer  and 
prophet.  The  relations  between  him 
and  the  *'sons  of  the  prophets"  were  evi- 
dently very  close  (I  Sam.  19  :  20).  It 
is  significant  that  Saul,  after  leaving 
Samuel,  came  upon  the  band  of  proph- 
ets prophesying  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity of  "the  hill  of  God  where  the  officers 
of  the  Phihstines  are"  (I  Sam.  10  :  5). 
It  is  not  at  all  unhkely  that  their  high- 
strung  prophetic  temperaments  were 
stirred  by  the  sight  of  the  symbols  of 
their  country's  shame;  hence  they  broke 
out  in  prophecy.  They  may  well  have 
been  flaming  firebrands  of  war  among 
the  people.  In  any  case,  Samuel's  great 
task  was  that  of  summoning  Israel  to 
the  great  struggle  for  its  life  and  honour, 
and  that  of  inspiring  a  leader  capable  of 
leading  the  disorganised  and  discouraged 
clans  to  victory.  His  service  in  this 
direction  was  so  great  that  one  source 
goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  "the  Philis- 


HEBREW  PROPHETS  57 

tines  were  subdued,  and  they  came  no 
more  within  the  border  of  Israel:  and 
the  hand  of  Yahweh  was  against  the 
PhiHstines  all  the  days  of  Samuel"  (I 
Sam.  7  :  13).  At  a  later  day,  in  the 
long,  exhausting  war  with  Syria,  the 
services  of  the  prophets  in  heartening 
king  and  people  were  worth  battalions 
to  Israel;  see  I  Kings  20  :  13/.,  22,  28, 
35/.;  II  Kings  3  :  10/.;  8  :  10/  In 
this  connection,  the  estimate  placed 
upon  Elijah  by  Elisha  is  significant,  "My 
father,  my  father,  the  chariots  of  Israel 
and  the  horsemen  thereof"  (II  Kings 
2  :  12);  cj,  the  same  judgment  upon 
Elisha  himself  by  King  Joash  (II  Kings 
13  :  14). 

The  ministry  of  the  early  prophets 
was  thus  eminently  practical,  in  that  it 
was  precisely  what  was  needed  for  the 
times.  The  prophets  were  rugged  and 
intense  men,  crude  in  thought  but  vig- 
orous and  effective  in  action — the  only 
kind  of  men  that  could  be  effective  in 


58  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

such  an  age.  Ignorant  and  narrow- 
minded  as  we  should  certainly  regard 
them  now,  they  were  mighty  instru- 
ments in  the  hands  of  God  for  the  work- 
ing out  of  his  great  purposes.  Despise 
not  the  day  of  small  things !  Beginnings 
were  here,  as  often,  of  apparently  slight 
significance;  but  who  can  measure  the 
glory  of  their  latter  end? 


Ill 

FALSE  PROPHETS 

The  term  "false  prophet"  does  not 
occur  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  idea, 
however,  is  present  in  such  expressions 
as  "the  prophets  prophesy  lies  .  .  .  they 
prophesy  unto  you  a  lying  vision"  (Jer. 
14  :  14);  and  "if  a  man  walking  in  a 
spirit  of  falsehood  lies"  (Micah  2  :  11). 
The  expression  itself  fell  from  the  lips 
of  Jesus  according  to  Matt.  7  :  15/.; 
"Beware  of  false  prophets  which  come 
to  you  in  sheep's  clothing"  (cf.  Mark 
13  :  22).  The  aim  of  this  chapter  is  to 
discover  the  real  distinction  between 
such  evidently  great  and  true  prophets 
as  Amos,  Hosea,  and  Isaiah  on  the  one 
hand  and  their  opponents,  the  so-called 
"false  prophets,"  on  the  other.     Are  the 

59 


60     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

latter  all,  without  discrimination,  to  be 
grouped  together  and  regarded  as  actu- 
ated by  unworthy  motives  and  as  delib- 
erate perverters  of  the  truth?  How 
could  the  contemporaries  of  the  proph- 
ets distinguish  the  "true"  from  the 
"false"?  Was  there  any  "short  cut" 
to  the  discovery  of  the  truth  in  the 
days  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  but  now 
no  longer  available? 

We  commonly  read  the  prophets'  ut- 
terances regarding  their  opponents  with- 
out stopping  to  realise  that  what  seems 
so  clear  and  indisputable  to  us  was  not 
necessarily  so  to  those  to  whom  it  was 
originally  addressed.  We  accept  the 
charge  of  falseness  made  by  a  Micah  or 
a  Jeremiah  at  its  face  value  and  never 
ask  ourselves  how  the  prophet  in  ques- 
tion could  be  so  certain  of  his  estimate 
or  how  the  people  who  heard  him  could 
know  whether  or  not  he  spoke  the  truth. 
There  was  no  outer  sign  distinguishing 
the  true  prophet  from  the  counterfeit. 


FALSE  PROPHETS  61 

It  is  not  improbable,  indeed,  that  in  the 
early  days,  at  least,  prophets  were  marked 
by  some  kind  of  a  brand,  or  shaved  off 
the  hair  of  the  head  in  some  character- 
istic fashion.  In  I  Kings  20  :  35-43  an 
episode  is  related  which  seems  to  point 
to  some  outer  sign  upon  the  head  or  face 
which  showed  that  a  man  belonged  to 
the  prophetic  order;  cf.  especially  vss. 
38  and  41.  But  such  outer  credentials 
were,  of  course,  available  to  both  types 
of  prophets  alike;  indeed,  the  possibil- 
ity of  "false"  prophets  being  marked 
like  *'true"  ones  is  clearly  recognised  in 
Zech.  13  :  4  6.  Such  an  outer  sign,  in 
the  very  nature  of  the  case,  could  have 
no  weight  in  deciding  the  question  at 
issue. 

One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of 
"false"  prophecy  is  recorded  in  I  Kings 
22.  Ahab  had  summoned  Jehoshaphat, 
of  Judah,  probably  his  vassal,  to  join  him 
in  an  attack  upon  Ramoth-Gilead,  then 
in    the   hands    of   the    Syrians.     Before 


62  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

starting  upon  the  campaign,  in  response 
to  the  suggestion  of  Jehoshaphat  Ahab 
summoned  the  prophets  of  the  kingdom 
to  the  number  of  about  four  hundred 
and  inquired  of  them  Yahweh's  will  re- 
garding the  enterprise.  With  one  voice 
they  said:  "Go  up,  for  Yahweh  will  de- 
liver it  into  the  hands  of  the  King." 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  these  were 
prophets  of  Yahweh  (vs.  5)  and  spoke 
Yahweh's  message,  Jehoshaphat  sought 
further  testimony,  and  Ahab  reluctantly 
called  in  Micaiah  ben  Imlah,  saying: 
"But  I  hate  him;  for  he  does  not  proph- 
esy good  concerning  me,  but  disaster" 
(vs.  8).  Micaiah,  when  pressed  for  the 
truth  by  AJiab,  declares  the  message  of 
the  four  hundred  to  be  a  lie  and  fore- 
tells the  overthrow  and  death  of  Ahab 
in  the  contemplated  campaign. 

Here  is  courage,  indeed !  One  man,  in 
magnificent  isolation,  daring  to  assert 
his  own  interpretation  of  the  divine  will 
in    opposition    to   the   enthusiastic    and 


FALSE  PROPHETS  63 

unanimous  testimony  of  four  hundred 
prophets  as  well  accredited  as  himself. 
Furthermore,  he  does  it  at  the  cost  of 
the  royal  displeasure.  This  is  the  stuff 
of  which  prophets  are  made!  But,  more 
striking  still,  he  explains  the  message 
of  his  prophetic  exponents.  And  his  ex- 
planation is,  to  say  the  least,  extraor- 
dinary. Summarily  stated,  it  is  to  the 
efiFect  that  Yahweh  had  determined  upon 
the  downfall  and  death  of  Ahab.  In 
order  to  give  this  decision  effect,  he 
had  commissioned  "a  lying  spirit"  to  go 
forth  from  his  presence  and  control  the 
utterance  of  all  the  four  hundred  proph- 
ets so  that  they  might  urge  Ahab  on  to 
his  end.  It  is  at  once  evident  that  the 
moral  responsibility  for  the  lie  rests  upon 
Yahweh  himself.  The  prophets  are  help- 
less; Yahweh,  through  his  agent,  has 
inspired  them  to  tell  a  lie.  What  a 
flood  of  light  a  statement  like  this  lets 
in  upon  the  ethical  standards  of  the 
prophets    of  the  ninth  century  B.   C! 


64  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

Micaiah's  God  was  capable  of  strange 
and  questionable  things.     Strictly  speak- 
ing, if  Micaiah's  interpretation  of  their 
conduct   be    correct,    the   four   hundred 
prophets  are  free  from  all  blame.     They 
are  but  unconscious  tools  in  the  hand 
of   Yahweh.     There   is   no   warrant   for 
branding  them  as  deliberately   "false." 
They  were  speaking  what  they  sincerely 
believed   to   be   the  truth   and   nothing 
but  the  truth.     Their  hearts  burned  with 
patriotic  pride  and  religious  zeal  as,  in 
the  name  of  Yahweh,  they  bade  Ahab 
go  forth  to  conquer.     But  it  is  doubt- 
ful  whether   or   not   Micaiah   gave   the 
four    hundred    the    full    benefit    of    his 
theory.     It    is    hardly    Hkely    that    he 
imputed  to  them  the  same  sort  of  sin- 
cerity of  motive  and   loyalty   to  truth 
as  possessed  his  own  soul.     His  "lying 
spirit"    rather    represents    two    convic- 
tions, viz.:    (1)  that  the  oracle  of  the 
four  hundred  was  untrue,  and  (2)  that 
the  whole  programme  was  ordained  of 


FALSE  PROPHETS  65 

Yahweh.  The  old  problem  of  the  free 
will  of  man  versus  the  sovereignty  of 
God  is  raised  by  this  explanation  of  the 
attitude  of  the  opposing  prophets,  but 
Micaiah  was  not  concerned  with  such 
abstract  things.  The  fact  that  Yahweh 
had  willed  that  the  four  hundred  should 
lie  probably  did  not  in  Micaiah's  mind 
constitute  any  excuse  whatsoever  for 
their  action.  He  would  none  the  less 
vigorously  denounce  them  as  liars. 

If  we  give  Micaiah  ben  Imlah  credit 
for  having  thought  through  the  question 
of  the  sincerity  of  the  four  hundred 
prophets,  we  are  compelled  to  conclude 
that  he  acquitted  them  of  all  intention 
to  deceive.  Whether  he  did  or  not,  we 
must  find  for  ourselves  a  satisfactory 
explanation  not  only  of  their  attitude 
but  also  of  that  of  the  so-called  "false" 
prophets  as  a  class.  In  the  search  for 
this  we  must  bear  in  mind  certain  facts. 
First  of  all,  the  prophets  as  a  class  at 
times  certainly  bore  an  unenviable  repu- 


66     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

tation  for  self-seeking.  Amos,  for  ex- 
ample, when  he  went  upon  his  pro- 
phetic mission  to  Bethel,  was  charged  by 
Amaziah,  the  priest,  with  being  actuated 
by  unworthy  motives  (Amos  7  :  12). 
Amaziah's  statement,  being  interpreted, 
amounts  to  this:  "What  mean  you,  O 
Amos,  by  coming  to  Bethel,  the  seat 
of  the  King's  palace  and  the  royal 
chapel,  with  a  message  announcing  the 
imminent  downfall  of  the  monarch?  If 
you  wish  to  fill  your  pockets  and  your 
stomach,  as  most  of  your  class  do,  this 
is  not  the  kind  of  oracle  to  bring  here. 
Take  it  down  south  to  Judah.  They  will 
appreciate  it  there  and  pay  you  well  for 
it.  But  there  is  no  market  for  your 
wares  here."  The  significant  thing  here 
is  that  Amos  practically  acknowledges 
the  legitimacy  of  this  characterisation  of 
the  prophets  as  a  whole,  for  he  does 
not  take  pains  to  deny  it.  He  contents 
himself  with  repudiating  the  accusation 
of  being  a  member  of  the  prophetic  or- 


FALSE  PROPHETS  67 

der  himself.  Whatever  may  be  true  of 
"prophets,"  he  cannot  be  held  respon- 
sible for  it,  for  he  is  not  a  "prophet" 
but  a  shepherd  and  cultivator  of  fruit- 
trees.  There  are  prophets  and  proph- 
ets, and  Amaziah  has  mistaken  his  man. 
A  similar  judgment  to  that  of  Amaziah's 
is  passed  upon  the  common  run  of  proph- 
ets by  Micah  the  Morashtite  (3:5). 
They  are  docile  and  amenable  as  long  as 
they  are  well  fed,  but  woe  to  him  who 
refuses  to  be  blackmailed  by  them. 
Zech.  13  :  2^.  reflects  a  like  opinion  of 
the  prophetic  order  in  the  postexilic 
age.  But,  while  we  may  grant  that 
many  of  the  representatives  of  prophecy 
were  unworthy  of  their  profession  and 
guilty  of  all  with  which  the  great  proph- 
ets charged  them,  we  must  guard  our- 
selves against  condemning  indiscrimi- 
nately all  those  who  opposed  the  true 
"prophets"  and  against  supposing  that 
it  was  an  easy  matter  to  tell  the  "true" 
from  the  "false." 


68  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

Amos  was  himself  misunderstood  and 
misrepresented  at  Bethel.  He  and  his 
compeers  may  at  times,  either  in  whole 
or  in  part,  have  misjudged  others.  It 
is  by  no  means  clear  that  the  interpre- 
tations of  their  opponents'  motives  by 
men  like  Jeremiah  and  Micah  were  al- 
ways absolutely  correct.  They  had  no 
magic  mirror  revealing  to  them  the  in- 
ner thoughts  and  purposes  of  their  con- 
temporaries and  were  therefore  not  im- 
mune against  error  in  judgment.  If  the 
prophet  at  his  best  could  not  be  an  in- 
fallible judge,  how  much  less  could  the 
people  at  large  be  so  regarded.^  Indeed, 
how  were  the  people,  who  after  all  were 
the  ones  most  vitally  concerned,  to  know 
when  they  were  being  told  the  truth 
and  when  a  lie?  This  was  a  vital  ques- 
tion in  Israel  on  many  an  occasion;  upon 
the  right  judgment  in  a  given  situation 
frequently  depended  the  fate  of  the  na- 
tion. The  Israelites  themselves  fully 
realised  the  importance  of  this  question 


FALSE  PROPHETS  69 

and  sought  earnestly  for  the  right  an- 
swer. We  have  on  record  two  attempts 
at  an  answer. 

When  discontent  and  revolt  were  rife 
in  Jerusalem  in  the  years  immediately 
following  the  first  deportation  to  Baby- 
lon, two  policies  were  struggling  for  the 
mastery.  A  typical  illustration  of  the 
situation  is  given  in  Jer.  28.  Jeremiah 
represented  the  view  that  Babylon  was 
destined  to  remain  mistress  of  the  Ori- 
ental world  and  that  the  only  thing  that 
could  wisely  be  done  was  to  submit  with- 
out struggle  to  her  yoke.  This  was 
Yahweh's  will.  Such  an  attitude  seemed 
to  Hananiah  the  prophet  and  the  many 
who  supported  him  to  be  not  only  un- 
patriotic but  also  disloyal  to  Yahweh. 
It  showed  a  lack  of  confidence  in  Yah- 
weh's goodness  and  power.  Inspired  by 
a  fanatical  faith  in  his  God,  Hananiah, 
therefore,  prophesied:  "Thus  says  Yah- 
weh of  hosts,  God  of  Israel,  saying,  I 
have  broken  the  yoke  of  the  King  of 


70  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

Babylon.  Within  two  full  years  will  I 
bring  again  into  this  place  all  the  ves- 
sels of  Yahweh's  house,  which  Nebu- 
chadrezzar, King  of  Babylon,  took  away 
from  this  place,  and  carried  to  Babylon: 
and  I  will  bring  again  to  this  place  Je- 
coniah,  the  son  of  Jehoiakim,  King  of 
Judah,  with  all  the  captives  of  Judah,  that 
went  to  Babylon,  says  Yahweh;  for  I  will 
break  the  yoke  of  the  King  of  Babylon." 
This  was  in  direct  and  open  oppo- 
sition to  the  preaching  of  Jeremiah. 
Which  of  the  two  should  the  people 
beHeve?  Should  they  continue  to  pay 
tribute  to  Babylon,  accepting  their  mis- 
fortune and  disgrace  as  the  expression 
of  Yahweh's  will;  or  should  they  flout 
the  Babylonian  and  defy  him,  trusting 
to  the  love  of  Yahweh  for  his  people 
and  to  his  omnipotence.  The  latter 
policy,  on  the  face  of  it,  seemed  much 
more  religious  than  that  of  Jeremiah. 
For  guidance  toward  the  right  decision 
in    such    a    dilemma    as    this   Jeremiah 


FALSE  PROPHETS  71 

makes  an  appeal  to  history.  He  first 
of  all  expresses  his  deep  sympathy  with 
the  hopes  of  Hananiah,  implying,  how- 
ever, that  they  were  doomed  to  disap- 
pointment. Then  he  continues:  "Never- 
theless, hear  now  this  word  which  I 
speak  in  thine  ears  and  in  the  ears  of 
all  the  people:  the  prophets  that  have 
been  before  me  and  before  thee  of  old 
prophesied  against  many  comitries  and 
against  great  kingdoms  of  war,  and  of 
calamity,  and  of  pestilence.  The  prophet 
who  prophesies  of  peace — when  the  word 
of  the  prophet  comes  to  pass,  then  shall 
the  prophet  be  known,  whom  Yahweh 
has,  indeed,  sent." 

This  answer  of  Jeremiah's  is  positive 
but  naive.  He  virtually  says:  "If  you 
survey  the  field  of  prophetic  history,  you 
will  find  that  all  the  prophets  of  for- 
mer generations  have  prophesied  along 
the  same  general  lines  as  I  myself  am 
now  following.  The  burden  of  the  pro- 
phetic message  has  always  been  disaster 


72     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

and  doom.  I  am  no  exception  to  the 
rule;  I  am  in  the  hne  of  prophetic  suc- 
cession. When  a  prophet  appears,  Hke 
our  friend  Hananiah,  who  preaches  pros- 
perity, I  advise  you  not  to  be  too  quickly 
influenced  by  his  words.  The  chances 
are  all  against  him.  Wait  and  see 
whether  his  predictions  come  to  pass 
before  you  commit  yourselves  to  his 
programme.  That  is  the  only  way  to 
keep  on  the  safe  side."  If  Jeremiah's 
interpretation  of  history  was  right,  what 
about  Messianic  prophecy?  Or  shall  we 
say  there  was  no  Messianic  prophecy 
until  after  his  time?  Or  must  we  con- 
clude that  Jeremiah's  historical  method 
was  at  fault,  that  he  picked  out  from 
history  the  facts  that  accorded  with  his 
ow^n  views  and  ignored  the  rest?  In 
any  case,  Jeremiah's  test  of  prophecy 
was  of  little  practical  value.  Its  adop- 
tion would  have  meant  the  complete 
rejection  of  all  counsels  of  hope  until 
they  were  no  longer  needed. 


FALSE  PROPHETS  73 

Another  answer  to  our  question,  of 
very  similar  character,  is  given  in  Deut. 
18  :  15-22.  The  legislator  here  is  warn- 
ing Israel  against  trusting  in  "false" 
prophets.  He  anticipates  their  question 
and  answers  it  thus:  ''If  thou  say  in 
thine  heart,  How  shall  we  know  the 
word  which  Yahweh  has  not  spoken? 
When  a  prophet  speaks  in  the  name  of 
Yahweh,  if  the  thing  follow  not,  nor 
come  to  pass,  that  is  the  thing  which 
Yahweh  has  not  spoken:  the  prophet 
has  spoken  it  presumptuously,  thou  shalt 
not  be  afraid  of  him."  This  test  of  the 
truth  of  a  prophet's  message  could  be 
applied  only  when  it  was  too  late  to  be 
of  any  direct  value.  That  prophet  is 
the  true  one  whose  message  is  vindicated 
by  the  subsequent  course  of  events. 
But  the  function  of  the  prophet  was  to 
aid  and  direct  in  the  determination  of  the 
course  which  events  should  take.  The 
only  test  of  any  value  from  this  point 
of   view   would   be   one   that   could   be 


74  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

applied  at  once.  The  nation  must  act, 
one  way  or  another,  at  once.  Which 
poKcy  shall  it  pursue?  In  many  cases 
not  to  act  is  in  itself  a  decision.  Of 
what  use  in  such  a  crisis  is  a  test  that 
applies  only  when  the  crisis  is  past  and 
the  results  of  the  decision  made  at  the 
critical  moment  are  apparent  to  every- 
body? Certainly  neither  Jeremiah  nor 
Deuteronomy  furnished  the  kind  of  a 
test  that  could  be  depended  upon  in 
a  case  of  need.  There  seems  to  have 
been  no  way  of  distinguishing  before- 
hand between  "true"  and  "false"  proph- 
ets. 

Not  only  so,  but  in  the  light  of  his- 
tory we  must  ask  ourselves  whether  or 
not  the  "true"  prophets  were  always 
"true"?  The  fact  is  that  those  who 
received  the  indorsement  of  the  ages 
did  not  always  agree  among  themselves. 
The  revolt  of  the  northern  kingdom 
under  Jeroboam,  if  not  instigated  and 
supported  by  the  prophets,  was  at  least 


FALSE  PROPHETS  75 

approved  by  them;  cf,  I  Kings  11  :  29 j^. 
But  Hosea,  looking  back  across  the  cen- 
turies and  seeing  the  outcome  of  the 
revolt,  condemns  it  and  hopes  for  the 
healing  of  the  schism  thereby  created 
(Hosea  1  :  11;  3:5;  8:4  [?]).  In  the 
days  of  Sennacherib's  invasion  both 
Micah  and  Isaiah  were  interpreting  the 
situation.^  It  is  difficult  to  determine 
the  course  of  Isaiah's  thought  in  this 
crisis.  Conflicting  reports  of  his  views 
seem  to  have  been  recorded;  see  pages 
160^.  But  Micah's  attitude  is  clear  and 
pronounced.  Dwelling  on  the  country- 
side and  looking  upon  Jerusalem  as  the 
embodiment  of  the  sin  of  Judah,  he  says, 
probably  in  connection  with  this  cam- 
paign: "Therefore,  on  account  of  you, 
Zion  will  be  ploughed  as  a  field  and  Jeru- 
salem will  become  ruins,  and  the  moun- 
tain of  the  house  a  high  place  in  a  for- 
est."    Micah   was   mistaken   about   the 


^See  pp.  19  jf.  of  my  Micahp  in  the  International  Critical 
Commentary  (1911). 


76  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

fate  of  Jerusalem;  but  who  would  think 
of  calling  him  a  false  prophet?  The 
contemporaries  of  the  invasion  had  con- 
tradictory views  regarding  its  outcome 
urged  upon  them.  To  which  should  they 
hearken,  and  how  were  they  to  know 
the  right  decision? 

In  the  light  of  the  foregoing,  it  is 
plain  that  the  hearers  of  the  prophets 
had  to  make  their  own  decisions  regard- 
ing truth  and  error.  They  had  no  short 
cut  to  the  truth  but  had  to  seek  for  it 
with  struggles  and  tears,  even  as  we  do 
to-day.  The  prophets  were  thus  de- 
pendent for  the  success  of  their  proph- 
ecy upon  their  audiences,  just  as  mod- 
ern preachers  are.  They  had  no  way  of 
convincing  men  of  the  truth  that  is  not 
open  to  the  modern  prophet.  They 
could  not  and  did  not  enforce  their  teach- 
ing by  any  external  authority.  The 
power  of  their  message  lay  in  its  appeal 
to  the  hearts  and  minds  of  those  to 
whom    it    was    addressed.     Truth    was 


FALSE  PROPHETS  77 

self-authenticating  in  their  age  even  as 
in  our  own.  It  must  find  its  way  into 
the  minds  of  men  as  a  welcome  guest, 
else  it  will  not  enter  at  all.  Its  only 
credentials  are  its  own  inherent  worth. 
The  man  who  cannot  or  will  not  recog- 
nise its  value  for  himself  will  never 
know  the  truth  by  any  other  token.  The 
prophets,  therefore,  like  all  heralds  of 
the  truth,  were  perforce  content  to  send 
forth  their  message  by  spoken  word  and 
printed  page  and  trust  it  to  do  its  own 
work  in  the  lives  of  men. 

The  fact  that  religious  truth  is  inde- 
pendent of  and  cannot  be  attested  by 
outer  demonstration,  even  of  the  most 
extraordinary  kind,  was,  at  least  in  part, 
recognised  by  the  prophetic  teachers  of 
Israel.  This  is  shown  by  Deut.  13  :  1-5. 
Here  Israel  is  warned  against  accepting 
religious  teaching  that  does  not  accord 
with  what  she  has  already  learned  of 
Yahweh,  even  though  such  false  teach- 
ing be  supported  by  signs  and  wonders 


78  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

that  actually  come  to  pass.  Even  a 
miracle  cannot  validate  a  lie.  This  warn- 
ing is  the  negative  side  of  the  proposi- 
tion that  the  only  test  of  truth  is  found 
in  its  fellowship  with  truth  already 
known.  The  truth  demonstrated  in  Is- 
rael's experience  was  that  Yahweh  was 
God.  Any  doctrine  setting  forth  new 
gods  was  in  irreconcilable  conflict  with 
this  and  was  of  necessity  false.  Noth- 
ing could  show  it  to  be  true.  Signs  and 
wonders  are  not  safe  guides. 

In  the  last  analysis  what  was  the  real 
diflFerence  between  the  "true"  and  the 
"false"  prophet?  It  certainly  was  not 
that  the  one  was  sincere  and  honest  in 
his  utterance  and  the  other  was  deceit- 
ful, hypocritical,  and  deliberately  given 
over  to  lies.  Undoubtedly,  some  repre- 
sentatives of  the  prophetic  order  did 
abuse  their  oflSce,  treating  it  as  a  means 
for  self-enrichment  and  self-aggrandise- 
ment. The  world  has  npver  lacked  those 
who  were  willing  to  use  a  high  calling 


FALSE  PROPHETS  79 

for  base  ends.  But  as  one  listens  to  the 
utterances  of  Hananiah,  the  son  of  Azzur, 
and  men  Hke  him,  their  words  ring  true. 
They  beUeved  what  they  said  with  heart 
and  soul.  They  were  as  patriotic  and 
as  rehgious  as  the  "true"  prophets  who 
opposed  them.  They  did  not  need  to 
yield  an  inch  in  loyalty  to  country  and 
in  loyalty  to  Yahweh  to  any  man.  The 
"true"  prophets,  to  be  sure,  called  them 
bad  names,  but  theological  and  ecclesi- 
astical partisanship,  even  in  Christian 
times,  has  not  been  lacking  in  bitterness ; 
odium  theologicum  is  a  synonym  for  acri- 
mony and  abuse. 

The  true  ground  of  distinction  is  to 
be  found  in  the  attitude  of  the  two 
parties  toward  the  problems  of  their 
day.  The  one  group  was  essentially 
traditionaUstic  in  its  attitude  toward 
life.  It  was  content  to  know  how  the 
fathers  had  thought  and  acted.  What 
was  good  enough  for  former  generations 
was  good  enough  for  the  present  genera- 


80     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

tion.  They  were  for  ever  harking  back 
to  the  faith  once  dehvered  unto  the 
saints.  They  worshipped  the  past  and 
had  no  true  appreciation  of  the  signifi- 
cance and  value  of  the  present.  They 
lacked  the  creative  spirit  and  power. 
They  were  engaged  in  the  task  of  per- 
petuating old  views  and  customs  after 
these  had  outlived  their  usefulness.  They 
looked  upon  the  spokesmen  of  new  ideas 
as  irresponsible  innovators  and  foes  of 
the  common  weal;  and  they  themselves 
were,  in  turn,  reckoned  disloyal  to  the 
truth  and  behind  the  times  by  their 
more  clear-sighted  and  aggressive  rivals 
for  the  religious  leadership  of  Israel. 

The  "true"  prophets,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  dihgent  students  of  their 
own  times.  They  were  not  lacking  in 
appreciation  of  the  past,  but  they  did 
not  allow  the  past  to  annihilate  the 
present.  They  realised  that  Yahweh  had 
spoken  to  the  men  of  former  ages  great, 
creative  truths;    but  they  were  equally 


FALSE  PROPHETS  81 

certain  that  he  had  still  more  truth  to 
make  known  to  his  children.     They  held 
themselves   in   readiness    to    receive    it, 
and   they  beheved  themselves  commis- 
sioned to  proclaim  it.     They  knew  that 
Yahweh  had  met  the  needs  of  the  past 
with   a   message   adapted   thereto,    and 
they  were  convinced  that  he  was  in  Uke 
manner    revealing    himseK    in    response 
to  the  needs  of  the  present.     They  read 
the  message  of  Yahweh  in  the  events  of 
the    day    as    an    ever-growing   and   ex- 
panding   revelation.     They    were    quick 
to  see  new  obligations  or  duties  arising 
in   the   development   of   the   social   and 
economic  order  and  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  identify  these  demands  with  the 
will  of  Yahweh.     Religion  thus  became 
in   their   hands   a   constantly    enlarging 
experience;    its   demands   could   not  be 
met  by  the  mere  repetition  of  ancient 
formulas;     or    by   the    performance,   no 
matter   how   zealous,   of   an    established 
ritual;  or  by  the  discharge  of  traditional 


82  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

duties.  It  must  be  a  vital  thing,  keep- 
ing pace  with  all  the  interests  of  the 
ever-changing  world  and  making  its 
ever-fresh  contribution  to  the  changing 
needs  of  man. 

The  difference  between  the  "true" 
and  the  "false"  prophet  may  be  illus- 
trated by  setting  forth  briefly  the  main 
features  of  the  situation  in  Israel  in  the 
eighth  century.  The  reign  of  Jeroboam 
II  had  brought  to  Israel  a  high  degree 
of  prosperity.  To  the  great  mass  of 
those  who  had  profited  by  this  prosper- 
ity and  to  most  of  the  contemporary 
prophets  this  state  of  affairs  meant  that 
Yahweh  was  satisfied  with  Israel  and 
was,  therefore,  showering  blessings  upon 
her.  They  rejoiced  in  their  wealth  and 
success  and  gratefully  multiplied  olBFer- 
ings  to  Yahweh  in  acknowledgment  of 
his  favour.  They  hoped  for  the  day 
of  Yahweh  to  come;  then  Yahweh  would 
crown  all  his  efforts  in  Israel's  behalf  by 
overthrowing   all   her   foes   and    setting 


FALSE  PROPHETS  83 

her  in  authority  over  them.  To  all  fear- 
ful and  less  trustful  souls  they  said  con- 
fidently: "Is  not  Yahweh  in  the  midst 
of  us?  No  disaster  can  befall  us" 
(Micah  3  :  11).  They  regarded  Yah- 
weh's  interests  as  identical  with  those 
of  Israel.  They  judged  Yahweh  by  the 
standards  they  set  up  for  themselves. 
They  were  zealous  in  their  worship  of 
him  and  well  satisfied  with  their  stand- 
ing in  his  sight.  Were  they  not  doing 
all  that  could  be  demanded.^  Was  not 
their  very  prosperity  itself  convincing 
evidence  of  Yahweh's  indorsement  of 
them  and  their  ways.^ 

But  there  were  others,  Uke  Amos, 
Hosea,  Micah,  and  Isaiah,  who  had  a 
totally  different  conception  of  God. 
They  believed  him  to  be  more  interested 
in  justice  than  in  sacrifice,  in  honesty 
than  in  festivals,  in  worthy  deeds  than  in 
empty  words. 

Let  justice  roll  down  as  waters. 

And  righteousness  as  a  mighty  stream. 


84  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

They  held  him  to  be  so  tremendously 
concerned  about  ethics  that  he  would 
not  hesitate  to  destroy  an  unethical 
nation.  They  conceived  of  his  inter- 
ests as  embracing  the  world  and  thus 
made  him  independent  of  his  people 
Israel.  In  his  name  they  denounced  the 
commercial  dishonesty  and  the  grasp- 
ing greed  that  had  taken  hold  of  the 
hearts  of  the  men  of  Israel.  They  de- 
manded a  new  social  spirit  adequate  to 
the  new  situation.  They  passionately 
pleaded  for  the  rights  of  men  as  over 
against  things,  and  claimed  Yahweh  as 
the  avenger  of  the  wrongs  of  the  op- 
pressed and  exploited  poor.  In  view  of 
the  travesties  of  justice  which  they  saw 
on  every  hand,  they  could  see  no  future 
for  Israel  but  disaster  and  doom  at  the 
hands  of  God. 

In  the  larger  Ufe  of  that  eastern  world 
in  which  Israel  was  becoming  more  and 
more  deeply  involved,  the  religious  need 
for  Israel  was  the  formulation  of  a  new 


FALSE  PROPHETS  85 

and  larger  idea  of  God.  To  this  the 
prophets  of  traditionalism  were  not  equal. 
They  had  neither  the  intellectual  acu- 
men nor  the  spiritual  insight  adequate 
for  such  a  task.  It  called  for  men  of 
broader  human  sympathies  and  deeper 
spiritual  life.  They  could  neither  meet 
the  need  of  the  age  nor  recognise  its  exis- 
tence and  were  thus  well  content  to  let 
things  go  along  as  they  always  had 
done.  They  were  staunch  defenders  of 
the  old,  because  they  were  totally  un- 
able to  appreciate  the  new. 

If  this  diagnosis  of  the  situation  be 
along  the  right  lines,  it  will  at  once  fol- 
low that  there  was  no  sharp  dividing 
line  between  *'true"  and  "false"  proph- 
ets. Some  were  by  temperament  and 
training  better  able  to  seize  the  truth 
than  others.  Each,  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  sought  to  interpret  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  in  terms  of  religion;  one 
succeeded  in  larger  measure  than  the 
other.     Each   served   his   God   with   all 


86     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

his  heart  and  soul;  but  one  made  a 
larger  contribution  to  the  reUgious 
thought  and  life  of  men  than  the  other. 
In  his  lifetime  the  great  prophet  did 
not  always  receive  as  much  considera- 
tion and  honour  as  the  Uttle  prophet; 
but  time  vindicated  him  and  placed  the 
seal  of  its  approval  upon  his  words. 
With  few  exceptions,  the  prophetic  hter- 
ature  which  has  survived  the  test  of  time 
is  that  produced  by  the  great  outstand- 
ing figures  in  the  history  of  Hebrew 
religious  thought.  Their  great  sayings 
did  not  fail  to  find  some  appreciative 
hearers  who  treasured  them  in  their 
hearts  and  passed  them  on  to  later  gen- 
erations. Men  have  never  been  willing 
to  let  truth  perish.  They  can  always  be 
trusted  with  it  and  will  not  fail,  sooner 
or  later,  to  enthrone  it  in  their  hearts. 
The  true  prophet  is  always  sure  of  a 
hearing,  for  the  hearts  of  men  instinc- 
tively^-respond  to  a  message  that  comes 
from  God. 


IV 

PROPHETIC  PREDICTION 

It  has  come  to  be  a  commonplace  that 
the  primary  function  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets  was  not  that  of  foretelUng. 
The  older  view  which  made  them  little 
more  than  recorders  of  history  before  it 
had  taken  place  was  a  gross  misinter- 
pretation. The  word  "prophet"  itself 
carries  no  such  significance  as  *' fore- 
teller." In  its  Greek  form,  the  imme- 
diate ancestor  of  our  English  word,  it 
means  "one  who  speaks  for,  or  in  be- 
half of,  another";  i,  e,,  of  course,  "one 
who  speaks  for  a  god."  The  Hebrew 
word,  of  which  this  is  a  translation,  is 
not  wholly  clear  in  its  significance.  But 
probably,  like  its  Assyrian  equivalent,  it 
is   best    rendered    "speaker"    or    "pro- 

87 


88     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

claimer."  Certainly,  in  certain  passages 
of  the  Old  Testament,  the  meaning  of 
'* prophet"  is  made  fairly  clear;  he  serves 
as  the  spokesman  of  Yahweh.  In  Jer.  1  : 
9,  Yahweh  says  to  Jeremiah,  "Behold, 
I  have  put  my  words  in  thy  mouth"; 
cf,  Deut.  18  :  18.  In  Ex.  4  :  10-16,  a 
relatively  old  passage  (=  J),  Yahweh  is 
represented  as  saying  to  Moses:  "Now, 
therefore,  go,  and  I  will  be  with  thy 
mouth  and  teach  thee  what  thou  shalt 
speak."  Moses  is  still  hesitant;  hence 
Yahweh  continues:  "Is  there  not  Aaron, 
thy  brother,  the  Levite?  I  know  that 
he  can  speak  well.  And  further — lo,  he 
comes  forth  to  meet  you,  and  when  he 
sees  you  he  will  be  glad  in  his  heart. 
And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  him  and  put 
the  words  in  his  mouth:  and  I  will  be 
with  thy  mouth  and  with  his  mouth 
and  will  teach  you  what  you  shall  do. 
And  he  shall  be  thy  prophet  ( =  spokes- 
man) unto  the  people:  and  it  shall  come 
to  pass  that  he  shall  be  to  you  a  mouth 


PREDICTION  89 

and  you  shall  be  to  him  as  God";  c/.  also 
the  account,  Ex.  7:1.  The  prophet, 
then,  from  the  point  of  view  of  these 
passages  is  the  one  who  declares  unto 
men  the  will  of  God. 

The  interpretation  of  the  will  of  God 
might  conceivably  pertain  to  the  history 
of  the  past;  and  certain  prophetically 
minded  men  gave  themselves,  indeed,  to 
the  task  of  interpreting  the  past  in  such 
a  way  as  to  obtain  therefrom  warning, 
guidance,  and  inspiration  for  the  pres- 
ent; witness  the  J  and  E  documents 
of  the  Hexateuch  and  the  stories  of 
Judges  and  of  Samuel  which  are  made 
to  drive  home  the  lessons  of  prophetic 
teachers.  Yahweh's  will  for  the  pres- 
ent is,  however,  a  matter  of  more  vital 
importance;  and  to  this  the  great  proph- 
ets of  the  classical  period  of  Hebrew 
literature  gave  themselves  with  undi- 
vided energies.  But  the  will  of  Yahweh 
regarding  the  future  was  also  a  matter 
of  profound  concern;    and  at  no  stage 


90     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

in  the  history  of  prophecy  was  it  ig- 
nored. Of  the  eariier  days  of  Hebrew 
prophecy  it  is  probably  safe  to  say 
that  the  chief  concern  of  the  prophets 
was  with  the  future.  Oracles  by  lot, 
by  omens,  by  trances  and  dreams  were 
eagerly  sought  and  highly  treasured. 
The  best  possible  attestation  of  a  proph- 
et's authority  was  the  fact  that  "what- 
soever he  says  comes  to  pass"  (I  Sam. 
9:6).  This  was  proof  positive  that  he 
knew  the  mind  of  God. 

That  such  attempts  to  read  the  se- 
crets of  the  future  have  been  made  the 
world  over  is  well  known;  and  that  they 
have,  at  times  at  least,  been  successful 
there  is  no  sufficient  reason  to  doubt. 
Bear  with  a  case  or  two  by  way  of  il- 
lustration. E.  W.  Lane,  in  his  edition 
of  the  Arabian  Nights,^  says:  "To-day 
[November  6,  1834],  as  I  was  sitting  in 
the  shop  of  the  Basha's  booksellers,  a  re- 
puted saint  whom  I  have  often  seen  here 

»  Vol.  I,  pp.  210/. 


PREDICTION  91 

came  and  seated  himself  by  me,  and 
began,  in  a  series  of  abrupt  sentences, 
to  relate  to  me  various  matters  respect- 
ing me,  past,  present,  and  to  come. 
He  is  called  the  sheikh  Alee-el-Leysee. 
.  .  .  'O  EflFendee,'  he  said,  *thou  hast 
been  very  anxious  for  some  days.  There 
is  a  grain  of  anxiety  remaining  in  thee 
yet.  Do  not  fear;  there  is  a  letter  com- 
ing to  thee  by  sea  that  will  bring  thee 
good  news.'  He  then  proceeded  to  tell 
me  of  the  state  of  my  family,  and  that 
all  were  well  excepting  one,  whom  he 
particularised  by  description  and  whom 
he  stated  to  be  then  suffering  from  an 
intermittent  fever.  This  proved  to  be 
exactly  true."  Again,  Lane  says  of  the 
same  man:  "He  several  times  accosted 
me  in  an  abrupt  manner,  acquainted 
me  with  the  state  of  my  family  in  Eng- 
land, and  uttered  incoherent  predictions 
regarding  me,  all  of  which  communica- 
tions, excepting  one  which  he  qualified 
with  'if  it  be  the  will  of  God,'  I  must 


92  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

confess,  proved  to  be  true."  When  Cy- 
rus the  Younger  was  upon  his  famous 
march  against  his  brother  Artaxerxes, 
and  was  daily  expecting  an  attack  from 
the  latter,  he  was  told  by  Silanus,  the 
soothsayer  of  Ambracia,  that  Artax- 
erxes would  not  join  battle  within  the 
next  ten  days.  Cyrus  promised  Silanus 
three  thousand  darics  if  his  prediction 
proved  true,  and  on  the  eleventh  day 
after  the  prediction  was  uttered,  Cyrus 
paid  the  money  over  to  Silanus  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  promise.^  In  the  mid- 
summer of  1908  a  religious  fanatic,  be- 
longing to  the  order  of  "Nazarenes," 
went  up  and  down  the  streets  of  Mes- 
sina proclaiming:  "Be  warned,  take  heed, 
and  repent,  O  men  of  Messina.  Before 
this  year  shall  end,  your  city  shall 
be  utterly  destroyed."  The  earthquake 
wiped  out  the  city  on  December  28  of 
that  year.^ 

^See  Xenophon's  Anabasis,  bk.  I,  close  of  chap.  VII;   cf. 
also  Thucydides,  bk.  II,  chap.  LIV. 

•  See  A.  KnudsoD,  Beacon  Lights  of  Prophecy  (1914),  p.  76. 


PREDICTION  93 

One  of  the  best  modern  illustrations 
of  this  power  of  prediction  is  furnished 
by  the  life  of  Savonarola.  His  wonder- 
ful influence  was,  in  part,  due  to  the 
possession  of  this  strange  gift.  For  ex- 
ample, he  foretold  the  deliverance  of 
Charles  VIII  at  a  time  when  his  retreat 
seemed  cut  off  on  all  sides.  At  the  very 
height  of  his  own  power,  he  had  a  pre- 
monition of  his  own  fate  and  predicted 
his  martyrdom.  On  May  26, 1495  A.  D., 
he  said  to  King  Charles:  "Remember 
that  I  repeatedly  announced  your  de- 
scent into  Italy  when  it  was  expected  by 
none.  I  have  predicted  your  success, 
predicted  your  perils.  The  Lord  has 
punished  you  because,  departing  from 
his  commands,  you  have  abandoned  his 
works.  And  still  heavier  punishments 
await  you  if  you  return  not  to  the  right 
path."  In  September,  1496  A.  D.,  this 
threat  was  terribly  fulfilled  by  the  death 
of  the  Dauphin.^ 

1  See  Villari's  Vie  de  Savonarola  (1893),  vol.  I,  pp.  186.  309; 
vol.  II,  pp.  4,  42,  56,  90. 


94     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

The  Old  Testament,  too,  records  eases 
of  this  sort.  A  man  of  God  tells  Eli 
that  his  two  boys  will  die  on  the  same 
day,  as  they  actually  did  (I  Sam.  2  :  34; 
4  :  11).  Samuel  tells  Saul  that  the  lost 
asses  have  been  found  (I  Sam.  10  :  2). 
Micaiah  ben  Imlah  predicts  disaster  for 
Ahab  (I  Kings  22  :  28).  Amos  foretells 
the  disgrace  and  slaughter  of  the  family 
of  Amaziah  the  priest  and  the  exile  of 
Amaziah  himself  (7  :  17).^  Isaiah  pre- 
dicts the  downfall  of  Ephraim  within 
sixty-five  years,  if  the  text  be  correctly 
preserved,  which  is  not  probable  (7  :  8).^ 
Jeremiah  is  said  to  have  foretold  the 
death  of  his  opponent  Hananiah  the 
prophet  within  the  ensuing  year.  Han- 
aniah died  within  about  two  months 
(Jer.   28:16/.).     Ahijah   the   Shilonite 


'  However,  we  are  not  informed  regarding  the  fulfilment  or 
non-fulfilment  of  this  prediction.  It  is  possible  that  Amaziah 
survived  till  the  exile  of  Gilead  and  Naphtali  in  732  B.  C, 
but  it  is  hardly  probable. 

-  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  final  overthrow  of  northern  Israel 
occurred  in  732  B,  C,  only  twelve  or  thirteen  years  at  most 
after  the  time  at  which  the  prediction  was  made. 


PREDICTION  95 

IS  said  to  have  foretold  the  exact  mo- 
ment of  the  death  of  Jeroboam's  son, 
Abijah  (I  Kings  14  :  12,  17).  EUsha  is 
said  to  have  predicted  the  death  of 
Benhadad  of  Syria  and  the  consequent 
accession  of  Hazael,  his  murderer  (II 
Kings  8  :  10-15).  The  mention  of  Cy- 
rus in  Isaiah  44  :  28  and  45  :  1,  which 
used  to  be  taken  as  a  prediction,  is  now 
understood  to  be  the  utterance  of  a  con- 
temporary, since  Isaiah  40-66  are  rec- 
ognised as  exiHc  and  postexihc  Hterature. 
A  prophet's  prediction  of  King  Josiah 
as  the  destroyer  of  the  altars  set  up  by 
Jeroboam  (I  Kings  13  :  1/.),  nearly  three 
hundred  years  before  Josiah's  birth,  is 
also  now  seen  to  be  the  product  of  a 
writer  living  during  or  after  Josiah's 
own  age.^ 

Were  we  to  accept  uncritically  every 
one  of  the  predictions  of  this  sort  con- 
tained in  the  Old  Testament,  the  number 

*  See,  e.  g.,  the  commentaries  on  Kings  by  W.  E.  Barnes 
{The  Cambridge  Bible)  and  J.  Skinner  (The  New  Century 
Bible). 


96     PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

would  be  relatively  very  small.  Defi- 
nite and  specific  predictions  were  evi- 
^  dently  not  of  very  great  value  in  the 
minds  of  the  greater  prophets.  The  fact 
is  that  we  could  find  much  more  of  this 
sort  of  thing  in  the  utterances  of  non- 
Hebraic  seers  and  of  the  Hebrew  proph- 
ets of  a  lesser  order  than  we  meet  in 
the  oracles  of  the  great  creative  proph- 
ets of  Israel.  These  exalted  souls  were 
not  content  to  be  mere  diviners  striv- 
ing to  wrest  the  secrets  of  the  unknown 
from  the  clutches  of  the  gods.  They 
were  enlisted  for  a  task  even  more  dif- 
ficult than  that  of  piloting  the  footsteps 
of  the  nation  by  the  aid  of  advance  in- 
formation regarding  the  programme  of 
Yahweh.  Their  preaching  was  of  the 
sort  to  stimulate  and  challenge  faith 
rather  than  to  stifle  it  by  removing  all 
necessity  for  its  exercise  because  of  the 
substitution  of  knowledge  for  faith. 

While  there  is  but  little  prediction  of 
a  specific  and  concrete  sort  in  the  Old 


PREDICTION  97 

Testament,  there  is  quite  a  good  deal  of 
another  kind.  The  prophets  frequently 
present  warnings  or  promises  relating  to 
the  future.  These  are,  for  the  most  part, 
general  in  scope  and  more  or  less  hazy 
and  indefinite  as  to  details.  Amos,  for 
example,  at  first  threatens  Israel  and 
the  surrounding  peoples  with  a  certain 
fearful,  fiery  form  of  destruction,  of  which 
nothing  definite  is  said  except  that  it 
is  punishment  inflicted  by  Yahweh  for 
sin.  Later  on  he  seems  to  have  decided 
upon  some  invading  army  as  Yahweh's 
agent  of  destruction.  Apparently,  he  ex- 
pected the  blow  to  fall  almost  immedi- 
ately, but  Samaria  stood  about  forty 
years  longer.  Hosea  reiterated  the  same 
message  of  destruction,  seeming  to  vacil- 
late between  Assyria  and  Egypt  as  the 
executors  of  Yahweh's  wrath.  Zepha- 
niah  looked  for  a  world-devastating  cata- 
clysm, with  the  Scythian  invasion  as  a 
forerunner.  Jeremiah  probably  shared 
the  same  view  in  his  early  ministry;  but 


98  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

later  came  to  see  that  the  Babylonian 
was  the  chosen  instrument  in  Yahweh's 
hands.  The  author  of  Isaiah  40-55 
promised  his  people  deliverance  from 
exile  at  the  hands  of  Cyrus  and  expected 
that  deliverance  to  be  the  dawn  of  the 
Messianic  age  of  glory.  Haggai  and 
Zechariah,  a  generation  later,  were  still 
hoping  for  the  Messiah's  appearance  and 
told  Judah  that  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple  was  all  that  was  needed  to  make 
certain  the  crowning  of  Zerubbabel  as 
Messianic  King,  and  the  realisation  of 
all  their  hopes  of  Messianic  blessedness. 
Such  threats  of  punishment  on  the  one 
hand  and  predictions  of  blessing  on  the 
other  were,  as  a  rule,  of  the  most 
general  character.  They  were,  indeed, 
largely  without  form  and  void.  The 
fact  of  the  coming  of  punishment  or  of 
blessing  was  almost  the  only  definite 
thing  about  them.  The  form  of  the  pun- 
ishment or  the  content  of  the  bless- 
ing   was    usually    left    undefined,    being 


PREDICTION  99 

described  only  in  the  most  general  and 
elusive  terms.  The  time  for  its  realisa- 
tion was  usually  represented  as  lying  in 
the  immediate  future,  but  of  the  day  and 
hour  no  word  was  given. 

For  a  right  understanding  of  such 
prophetic  utterances  it  is  important  to 
remember  that  prediction  was  not,  for 
the  prophets,  an  end  in  itself.  They 
had  no  desire  to  be  known  as  infallible 
prognosticators.  Prediction  was  not  to 
them  of  primary  importance;  it  was  but 
a  means  for  the  attainment  of  a  greater 
end.  They  were  interested  in  the  future, 
to  be  sure.  Indeed,  in  a  sense,  all  their 
work  looked  toward  the  future.  Yet 
they  were  well  aware  that  that  future 
was  dependent  upon  the  present  and 
that  the  latter,  therefore,  could  not  be 
ignored,  but  was  of  prime  significance. 
So,  in  a  sense,  also,  their  first  interest 
was  in  the  present.  They  sought  in  ev- 
ery possible  way  to  bring  their  people 
to  make  that  present  what  it  ought  to 


100    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

be.^  They  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
children  of  the  present  all  their  hopes 
and  fears  as  to  the  future.  They  in- 
sisted constantly  that  the  present  was 
the  future  in  the  making  and  that  there 
could  not  possibly  be  any  divorce  be- 
tween the  two.  They  appealed  to  their 
people's  patriotism  in  the  hope  of  se- 
curing a  response  in  repentance  and  re- 
form that  would  make  a  glorious  future 
possible.  They  appealed  to  their  sense 
of  justice  that  they  might  forsake  op- 
pression for  the  same  reason.  They 
threatened  them  with  impending  dis- 
aster that  they  might  terrify  them  into 
goodness  and  thus  guarantee  a  splendid 
future  for  Israel.  They  promised  them 
wonderful  manifestations  of  Yahweh's 
power  and  love  that  they  might  Uft 
them  out  of  despair  and  spur  them  for- 


1  Moses  Buttenwieser  (The  Prophets  of  Israel  [1914],  pp. 
178,  297)  repeats  the  mistaken  view  that  the  prophets  had  lit- 
tle expectation  of  effecting  any  change  in  the  lives  of  their 
contemporaries.  This  seems  psychologically  impossible  and 
in  conflict  with  the  whole  spirit  and  aim  of  prophecy. 


PREDICTION  101 

ward  to  fresh  endeavour  for  the  sake 
of  the  future.  Prediction,  then,  was  to 
some  extent  a  homiletical  method  for 
achieving  moral  and  spiritual  results  for 
the  present. 

It  will  at  once  appear,  then,  that  there 
was  a  large  element  of  the  conditional  in 
prediction.  In  proportion  as  a  prophet 
was  successful  in  his  main  endeavour, 
many  of  his  predictions  would  fail  to  be 
realised.  If  a  prophet  threatened  pun- 
ishment from  Yahweh  for  sin,  in  the 
hope  of  bringing  Israel  to  repentance,  his 
success  as  a  prophet  required  that  his 
prediction  should  induce  the  repentance 
which  would  obviate  the  necessity  for 
that  punishment.  This  point  of  view 
is  clearly  stated  in  Jer.  18  :  1-10,  the 
closing  portion  of  which  reads: 

At  the  moment  I  speak  concerning  a  nation,  and 
concerning  a  kingdom. 

To  pluck  up  and  to  pull  down  and  to  destroy  it; 

If  that  nation  turn  from  its  wickedness  concern- 
ing which  I  spoke, 


102    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

I  will  repent  of  the  evil  that  I  thought  to  do  to  it. 
And  at  the  moment  I  speak  concerning  a  nation, 

and  concerning  a  kingdom,  to  build  and  to 

plant  it; 
If  it  do  evil  in  my  sight  in  not  obeying  my  voice. 
Then  will  I  repent  of  the  good,  wherewith  I  said 

I  would  benefit  them. 

Such  a  platform  as  this  could  be  used 
by  a  disingenuous  prophet  to  vindicate 
himself  no  matter  how  events  came 
about.  Indeed,  in  all  good  faith,  a  man 
like  Jeremiah  would  find  no  diflSculty  in 
explaining  the  course  of  events  upon  this 
basis.  If  disaster  came  notwithstanding 
repentance,  the  penitence  was  not  gen- 
uine or  was  too  facile.  If  prosperity 
came  notwithstanding  persistence  in  evil, 
then  the  prosperity  was  only  transitory 
and  the  punishment  would  be  all  the 
more  terrible  when  it  did  come. 

In  fact,  not  infrequently  we  must 
freely  recognise  that  the  specific  elements 
in  the  predictions  of  the  prophets  failed 
of  fulfilment.  History  is  the  authorita- 
tive and  final  judge  in  this  matter.     Amos 


PREDICTION  103 

apparently  looked  for  the  fall  of  Samaria 
within  a  few  years  at  the  most  (Amos 
7  :  17);  but  that  event  did  not  arrive 
till  722  B.  C,  about  forty  years  after 
the  time  of  his  oracle.  Micah  expected 
Sennacherib  to  lay  Jerusalem  in  ruins 
(3  :  12),  but  Sennacherib  left  her  un- 
scathed to  stand  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years.  Zephaniah  and  Jeremiah 
seem  to  have  been  called  forth  by  the 
Scythian  invasion,  from  which  they  an- 
ticipated dire  calamity  to  Judah;  but 
the  Scythians  passed  by  leaving  Judah 
practically  untouched.  The  author  of 
Isaiah  40-55  predicted  the  dawn  of  the 
Messianic  age  upon  the  release  of  Judah 
from  captivity.  Haggai  and  Zechariah 
saw  in  Zerubbabel  the  Messiah  himself 
and  urged  Judah  to  remove  the  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  the  immediate  manifesta- 
tion of  Messianic  glory;  the  same  hopes 
possessed  Malachi  and  other  postexilic 
prophets;  but  the  Messianic  age  is  yet 
to  dawn.    The  prophets  were  not  gifted 


104    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

in  the  art  of  reading  the  details  of  the 
future  to  any  greater  extent  than  ex- 
perts along  these  Hues  elsewhere  in  the 
world.  In  so  far  as  they  did  indicate 
the  general  direction  of  human  progress, 
it  was  due  to  the  fact  that  they  were 
better  qualified  students  of  the  present 
than  others.  They  were  in  profounder 
sympathy  with  the  eternal  purpose,  and 
by  keen  discernment  of  its  workings  in 
the  past  and  present  were  able  to  fore- 
cast the  main  lines  of  operation  in  the 
immediate  future. 

The  Hebrew  predictions  of  a  calamity 
upon  the  heathen  and  blessing  upon  Is- 
rael are  partly  the  expression  of  a  pro- 
found conviction  of  the  moral  justice  of 
God.  The  history  of  Israel,  especially 
during  the  later  centuries,  was  a  history 
of  disaster  and  woe.  This  was,  for  the 
most  part,  inflicted  by  nations  of  far 
inferior  ethical  and  spiritual  ideals.  The 
natural  longings  of  the  Hebrew  soul  find 
expression  in  these  hopes  for  the  future 


PREDICTION  105 

and  their  passion  for  righteousness  rein- 
forces their  hopes.  From  this  point  of 
view  these  predictions  are  the  expression 
of  the  very  soul  of  Israel.  The  certainty 
that  glorifies  them  is  of  the  heart  and 
not  the  head.  This  side  of  the  proph- 
et's predictions  may  be  illustrated  by  a 
modern  parallel.     An  Armenian  student 

in  my  classes,^  during  the  period  of  the 
recent  Balkan  revolt  against  Turkey,  thus 
wrote  upon  this  question: 

Two  millions  of  suffering  Armenians  have 
been  predicting  the  downfall  of  the  Turk  with 
just  as  much  of  a  firm  assurance  and  certainty 
as  the  old  Hebrew  prophets  did  the  downfall  of 
the  Assyrian  or  the  Babylonian.  Disinterested 
people,  outsiders,  might  have  predicted  the  same 
end  on  the  basis  of  certain  facts  observed  in  the 
situation  which  they  believed  would  logically 
work  out  the  decline  and  fall  of  Turkey.  The 
basis  of  prediction  for  the  Armenians  was  not 
what  they  could  see  and  understand  (though  they 
were  not  lacking  in  intelligence),  but  what  they 
felt  in  their  hearts.  They  hate  the  Turk  so  bit- 
terly— they  so  much  long  to  see  his  end  come 

^Viz.:    Mr.  A.  A.  Bedikian,  professor  in  Robert  College, 
Constantinople. 


106  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

— tliat  they  simply  believe  for  a  fact  that  it  will 
come  without  fail.  Strong  feelings  create  a  vision 
of  a  future  certainty.  It  may  seem  an  empty 
dream  for  another,  but  for  the  sufferer  it  has  the 
sustaining  power  of  a  hopeful  fact. 


In  View  of  the  nature  and  function  of 
prediction  as  thus  far  seen,  it  is  clear 
that  those  who  look  to  the  prophetic 
writings  for  a  key  to  the  meaning  of 
modern  movements  are  demanding  of 
the  prophets  what  they  never  attempted 
to  give.  To  read  the  fifty-third  chapter 
of  Isaiah  as  a  hteral  prediction  of  the 
career  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  grossly  to 
misunderstand  the  prophet  who  penned 
that  noble  ideal.  To  find  in  the  book 
of  Daniel  descriptions  of  the  course  and 
fate  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  or 
data  for  determining  the  chronology  of 
the  last  age  and  the  coming  of  the  Day 
of  Judgment,  is  to  fail  to  appreciate  the 
purpose  of  that  book  and  the  limitations 
of  its  author.  The  predictions  of  the 
prophets  are  rather  their  highest  ideals 


PREDICTION  107 

carried  over  into  the  region  of  the  future 
and  visuahsed.  They  are  describing  the 
world  for  us  as  they  would  like  it  to  be 
and  as  they  believed  in  God's  good  time 
it  would  be.  In  such  utterances  they 
are  giving  us  dreams — not  time-tables, 
pictures — not  reality. 

The  day  for  the  ''fulfilment"  of  their 
visions  has  long  since  passed  away.  We 
are  living  in  a  new  world,  which  is  not 
the  world  of  their  dreams.  Imperfect  as 
our  world  is,  we  would  not  exchange  it 
for  the  world  they  longed  for  if  we  could. 
We  could  not  live  content  in  their  un- 
real world;  we  have  outgrown  its  pro- 
portions in  every  direction.  Their  hopes, 
lofty  as  they  were,  cannot  be  our  hopes. 
We  must  develop  our  own  ideals  and 
follow  them  toward  the  perfection  that 
beckons  afar.  We  shall  be  honouring 
the  prophets  not  by  a  mere  parrot-like 
repetition  of  their  words  and  thoughts, 
but  by  a  genuine  sympathy  with  their 
spirit.     The  same  divine  discontent  with 


108    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

this  world  of  the  present  and  the  same 
sort  of  hunger  for  *'a  world  in  which 
dwelleth  righteousness"  will  stimulate  us 
to  the  same  sort  of  ceaseless  effort  for 
the  improvement  of  the  present  that  the 
coming  of  that  better  age  be  not  too 
long  delayed.  We  honour  most  the 
prophets  of  the  past  by  giving  diligent 
heed  to  the  prophets  of  our  own  day 
as  they  warn  us  of  our  perils  and  point 
out  for  us  the  way  of  social  betterment, 
clear-eyed  justice  and  world-wide  broth- 
erhood. 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE  1 

No  portion  of  a  prophet's  life  was  ex- 
empt from  service  in  behalf  of  the  proph- 
et's purpose.  He  denied  himself  the 
privileges  and  joys  of  other  men  if 
thereby  he  could  the  more  effectively 
achieve  his  aim.  He  laid  bare  the  se- 
crets of  his  own  heart  and  the  tragedies 
of  his  own  experience  when  by  so  doing 
he  thought  it  possible  to  make  a  pro- 
found impression  in  favour  of  true  relig- 
ion. Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  furnish  proof 
of  this;  but  Hosea,  in  the  story  of  his 
marriage,  gives  us  the  best  illustration 
of  a  prophet's  absolute  self-abnegation. 

The  prevailing  interpretation  of  Ho- 
sea's  marriage  is  to  the  effect  that  Hosea, 

*  Reprinted  with  slight  revision  from  The  Biblical  World, 
vol.  XLII,  August,  1913. 

109 


110    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

as  a  young  man,  fell  in  love  with  Gomer 
and  married  her,  supposing  her  to  be  all 
that  his  youthful  imagination  fancied 
her  to  be.  To  this  union  were  born 
three  children.  But  meantime  Gomer 
had  developed  latent  tendencies  to  sen- 
suality and  had  played  Hosea  false.  At 
last  she  left  his  home  to  live  with  an- 
other man.  The  love  of  Hosea,  how- 
ever, made  it  impossible  for  him  to 
leave  her  to  her  fate,  and,  going  after 
her,  he  purchased  her  from  her  para- 
mour and  placed  her  under  restraint, 
preparatory  to  her  full  restoration  to 
her  position  as  his  wife.  Long  brooding 
over  this  tragic  experience  produced  in 
him  the  conviction  that  it  all  had  been 
ordained  of  Yahweh  to  the  end  that 
Hosea  might  thereby  be  aroused  to  the 
true  significance  of  Israel's  attitude  to- 
ward Yahweh  and  be  inspired  to  preach 
to  Israel  regarding  her  sin.  The  whole 
experience  was  Yahweh's  way  of  calling 
Hosea  to  be  a  prophet. 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         111 

The  attractiveness  of  this  interpreta- 
tion lies  in  the  essentially  human  and 
natural  character  of  the  experience  thus 
portrayed.  It  presents  no  psychological 
difficulties  to  the  modern  mind.  Hosea 
becomes  a  man  like  ourselves,  moved  by 
similar  passions  and  learning  the  will  of 
God  precisely  as  we  do — by  experience. 
JVIany  of  the  leaders  of  modern  scholar- 
ship have  enthusiastically  indorsed  this 
view  and  furthered  it  by  both  learning 
and  eloquence.  Among  others  may  be 
mentioned  Cheyne,  Wellhausen,  W.  Rob- 
ertson Smith,  Kuenen,  George  Adam 
Smith,  A.  B.  Davidson,  Nowack,  Marti, 
and  W.  R.  Harper.  Yet  I  venture  to 
think  that  the  truth  lies  on  the  side  of 
older  generations  of  scholars,  whose  ex- 
egetical  sense  forbade  them  taking  the 
language  of  Hosea  as  meaning  other  than 
what,  on  the  face  of  it,  it  seems  to  say. 
Modern  representatives  of  this  view, 
which  looks  upon  Gomer  as  having  been 
a  public  prostitute  when  Hosea  married 


m    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

her,  have  not  been  lacking.  The  most 
forceful  presentation  of  this  interpreta- 
tion in  recent  years  is  that  of  Professor 
Paul  Volz,  in  Zeitschrift  filr  wissenschaft- 
liche  Theologie,  XLIV  (1898),  321-335. 
The  present  chapter  proposes  once  more 
to  array  the  evidence  for  a  hteral  in- 
terpretation of  the  language  of  Hosea 
and  to  reconstruct  this  section  of  the 
biography  of  the  prophet.^ 

The  language  of  the  narrative  leaves 
no  room  for  the  view  that  Gomer  was 
a  woman  with  a  tendency  toward  har- 
lotry, rather  than  an  out-and-out  harlot. 
In  support  of  the  "tendency"  view  much 
has  been  made  of  the  fact  that  in  1  :  2 
Hosea  is  told  to  take  "a  wife  of  har- 
lotries" (D-'^^iT  n^«),  not  "a  harlotrous 
wife."  But  there  is  no  chance  for  the 
idea    "a    wife    with    tendencies    toward 

*  After  this  chapter  in  its  original  form  was  put  in  type,  but 
before  its  publication.  Professor  C.  H.  Toy,  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, published  an  article,  "Note  on  Hosea  1-3,"  in  the 
Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  XXXII  (June,  1913),  pp.  75-79, 
in  which  he  also  declared  for  a  literal  interpretation  of  the 
language  descriptive  of  Gomer. 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         113 

harlotry"  in  the  former  phrase.  Ex- 
actly the  sarae  idiom  is  employed  in 
Prov.  12  :  4;  31  :  10  and  Ruth  3  :  11, 
where  "a  woman  (or  wife)  of  virtue" 
certainly  does  not  and  cannot  mean  "a 
woman  with  tendencies  toward  virtue," 
but  simply  *'a  virtuous  woman."  The 
same  thing  is  true  of  similar  phrases 
in  Prov.  6  :  24;  9  :  13;  11  :  16;  21  :  9; 
25  :  24;  and  27  :  15.  Hosea  himseK  uses 
the  same  idiom  again  in  4  :  12  and  5:4, 
where  ''a  spirit  of  harlotries"  is  clearly 
something  more  than  "a  spirit  with 
tendencies  toward  harlotry."  The  id- 
iom is  simply  one  of  the  regular  ways  of 
predicating  a  characteristic  of  a  person 
and  cannot  legitimately  be  made  to  carry 
such  a  load  as  the  "tendency"  view 
places  upon  it.  Gomer,  the  "wife  of 
harlotries,"  was  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  a  "wife  who  plays  the  harlot." 

Nor  is  it  true  that  Hosea  was  made 
a  prophet  by  his  marriage.  According 
to  the  literal  sense  of  the  narrative,  the 


114    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

marriage  itself  was  imposed  upon  him 
by  the  word  of  Yahweh;  ?'.  e,^  he  was  al- 
ready a  prophet  before  marriage.  Even 
if  this  plain  statement  might  be  legiti- 
mately set  aside  on  the  ground  that  it 
is  the  product  of  Hosea's  later  reflection 
upon  the  cause  and  significance  of  his 
marriage,  it  yet  remains  true  that  Hosea 
was  a  prophet  at  the  time  of  the  birth 
of  the  first  child,  for  he  bestowed  upon 
him  a  name  having  prophetic  signifi- 
cance. Yet  it  is  quite  generally  held 
by  exponents  of  the  "tendency"  view 
that  at  this  time  Hosea  knew  nothing 
of  his  wife's  unfaithfulness,  which  is 
supposed  to  have  kindled  in  him  the 
prophetic  fire.  Furthermore,  it  is  not  at 
all  necessary  to  posit  a  tragic  marital 
experience  in  explanation  of  the  origin 
of  Hosea's  characteristic  conception  of 
the  relation  between  Yahweh  and  Israel 
as  one  in  which  the  ruling  principle 
should  be  a  mutual  love,  like  that  which 
should  obtain  between  husband  and  wife. 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         115 

The  representation  of  a  god  as  the  hus- 
band of  his  land  was  close  at  hand  in 
the  Baalism  of  the  day,  in  which  this 
was  the  basic  thought.  The  thought  of 
Yahweh's  love  for  his  people,  even  though 
they  were  sinful,  was  by  no  means  new; 
it  is  implied  in  Amos  2  :  9-11  and  3  :  2 
and  finds  clear  expression  in  the  stories 
of  J  and  E  incorporated  in  the  Hexa- 
teuch;  e,  g.,  Ex.  15  :  13;  Joshua  23  :  4- 
11;  Deut.  33  :  12.  It  would  have  been 
wholly  cruel  to  require  Hosea  to  arrive 
at  the  idea  of  Yahweh's  love  for  Israel 
through  such  a  heart-breaking  experi- 
ence as  the  ^'tendency"  view  presupposes, 
when  that  idea  lay  ready  to  hand,  having 
been  worked  out  in  the  experience  of  pre- 
ceding generations. 

The  "tendency"  view  also  implies 
that  Hosea  first  of  all  received  a  revela- 
tion from  Yahweh  through  the  marriage 
experience,  which  he  was  to  pass  on  to 
the  people  of  Israel.  But  there  is  not  a 
word  said  in  the  narrative  about  this 


116    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

mediating  function  of  Hosea.  Judging 
from  analogous  records,  in  which  the 
role  of  mediator  is  always  explicitly  en- 
joined upon  the  prophet,  it  is  not  likely 
that  this  mediating  task  was  to  be  taken 
for  granted  by  Hosea.  The  brevity  of 
the  record  is  a  most  serious  obstacle  in 
the  path  of  the  "tendency"  interpreta- 
tion, for  that  view  implies  so  much  that 
is  not  mentioned  in  the  narrative.  So 
vital  an  element  in  the  experience  as 
Hosea's  failure  to  discover  Gomer's  true 
character  before  he  married  her  and  the 
consequent  paralysing  revelation  of  it 
afterward  could  hardly  have  been  passed 
over  in  utter  silence.^  Nor  would  there 
have  been  left  unexplained  such  an  ex- 
traordinary fact  as  Hosea's  continuing 
his  marital  relations  with  a  wife  after 

^  Cf.  the  statement  of  Professor  Toy  in  the  article  previ- 
ously mentioned:  "The  romantic  history  of  a  man  wounded 
in  his  deepest  feelings  through  an  ill-fated  marriage  that  sad- 
dened his  life  and  coloured  his  thought  seems  to  me  to  have  no 
foundation  in  the  text.  If  there  had  been  passionate  devotion 
and  sorrow  there  would  doubtless  have  been  some  mention  of 
it,  but  there  is  none;  the  narrative  is  a  quiet  statement  of 
facts." 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         117 

the  birth  of  two  children,  one  of  whom 
at  least  was  known  to  be  a  child  of 
shame,  if  Corner's  true  nature  had  been 
unknown  to  him  before  his  marriage. 
Furthermore,  such  a  case  of  adultery  as 
is  presupposed  by  this  view  was  punish- 
able by  death;  cf.  Deut.  22  :  22/.;  Ezek. 
16  :  40.  Hosea  could  hardly  have  passed 
over  in  silence  his  reason  for  not  having 
the  law  enforced. 

Hosea  was  not  led  blindfolded  by 
Yahweh  into  a  marriage  that  was  to 
break  his  heart  and  wreck  his  life.  On 
the  contrary,  he  married  a  woman  of 
evil  reputation  with  his  eyes  wide  open. 
If  this  seem  to  us  a  psychological  impos- 
sibility, we  need  only  recall  other  cases 
in  which  prophets  did  extraordinary 
things.  The  psychology  of  a  prophet 
was  not  subject  to  the  laws  controlling 
the  mental  operations  of  ordinary  men. 
The  belief  that  Yahweh  willed  the  per- 
formance of  any  act  was  enough  to  lead 
him  to  undertake  the  most  unusual,  yea, 


118  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

repugnant  programme.  Illustrations  of 
this  absolute  surrender  to  the  will  of 
Yahweh  are  furnished  in  Isaiah  20  :  2/. 
and  Ezek.  4  :  4/.,  12 ff.;  12  :  Sff.;  24  : 
16  ^.  Nor  are  instances  of  similar 
character  wanting  in  more  recent  times. 
Simeon  Stylites  spending  almost  half  a 
century  continuously  upon  the  top  of 
a  column,  thinking  that  thereby  he  was 
pleasing  God,  is  a  case  in  point.  An  act 
looked  upon  as  God-ordained  and  recog- 
nised as  such  from  the  start  is  thereby 
lifted  above  all  ordinary  rules  of  pro- 
cedure. The  will  of  God  transcends  all 
other  laws. 

The  moral  problem  raised  by  such  a 
command  from  Yahweh  for  the  modern 
mind  would  not  present  itself  to  the 
men  of  the  eighth  century  B.  C.  The 
moral  diflBculty  is  essentially  the  same 
on  either  hypothesis.  For  Yahweh  to 
order  a  prophet  to  marry  a  woman  who, 
as  Yahweh  knows,  will  turn  out  a  har- 
lot is  every  whit  as  bad  as  for  him  to 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         119 

bid  the  prophet  marry  one  who  is  al- 
ready a  harlot.  But  this  aspect  of  the 
question  would  present  no  serious  diffi- 
culty to  men  who  were  able  to  think  of 
Yahweh  as  hardening  Pharaoh's  heart 
to  the  end  that  he  might  destroy  him, 
or  as  stirring  up  David  to  number  Israel 
only  to  punish  him  for  so  doing,  or  as 
inspiring  a  body  of  prophets  to  tell  Ahab 
a  lie  in  order  that  Ahab  might  go  to 
his  death. 

The  marriage  to  Gomer  presented  it- 
self to  Hosea  as  required  of  him  by 
Yahweh,  precisely  because  it  was  an  ex- 
traordinary and  sensational  act.  It  was 
calculated  to  attract  wide-spread  atten- 
tion. It  and  the  succeeding  births  were 
vivid  object-lessons  for  the  whole  na- 
tion. Such  a  marriage  inevitably  would 
provoke  questions  and  give  Hosea  an 
eager  audience  for  his  answers.  These 
show  that  he  intended  that  his  family 
life  should  be  regarded  as  a  concrete 
illustration  of  the  nature  of  the  relation- 


120    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

ship  between  Yahweh  and  Israel.  Just 
at  this  point  we  need  to  guard  against 
misinterpretation  of  the  marriage.  Its 
purpose  was  to  present  the  existing  sit- 
uation in  Israel  from  the  point  of  view 
of  Yahweh.  It  is  reading  into  the  nar- 
rative what  is  not  there  to  insist  that 
it  shall  represent  the  whole  history  of 
Israel's  relation  to  Yahweh,  and  that 
Gomer,  therefore,  must  have  been  a 
pure  young  maiden  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage,  even  as  Israel  is  represented 
elsewhere  {cf.  Hosea  11  :  1;  Ezek.  16) 
to  have  been  at  the  time  when  Yah- 
weh chose  her  as  his  people.  But  the 
demands  of  the  narrative  and  of  the 
experience  itself  are  satisfied  if  the  mar- 
riage be  looked  upon  as  a  striking  por- 
trayal of  the  utter  lack  of  inner  sym- 
pathy between  Yahweh  and  Israel  in 
Hosea's  own  day,  and  especially  of  the 
base  disloyalty  and  ingratitude  of  Israel 
in  not  giving  her  full  and  undivided  al- 
legiance to  Yahweh,  her  rightful  Lord 
(cf.  Hosea  2  :  5ff,), 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         121 

The  name  Gomer  bath  diblaim  itself 
may  furnish  evidence  of  the  true  char- 
acter of  its  owner  before  her  marriage. 
The  meaning  of  the  name  is,  perhaps, 
"Gomer,  daughter  of  fig-cakes."  The 
real  significance  of  the  name  is,  on  this 
basis,  "Gomer  whose  person  is  held  at 
a  low  value."  The  point  of  view  is  fur- 
nished by  a  statement  from  an  Ara- 
bic writer,  viz.:  "We  used  to  conclude 
mofa-marriages  for  a  handful  of  dates 
and  meal  in  the  time  of  the  prophet 
and  Abu-bekr,  until  Omar  forbade  us 
such."^  The  mof a-marriage  was  a  tem- 
porary union  between  a  man  and  woman 
and  altogether  unworthy  of  the  name 
of  marriage.  The  same  phraseological 
usage  appears  in  the  common  English 
idiom,  found  also  in  Latin,  "not  worth 
a  fig."  If  this  be  the  meaning  of  the 
name,  Gomer  is  thereby  branded  as  a 
woman  who  could  be  obtained  for  very 

^  See  Eb.  Nestle,  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  alttestamentliche  WisseU' 
schaft,  XXIII,  346.  and  XXIX  234;  cf.  W.  Baumgarten.  iind., 
XXXIII,  78. 


122    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

low  hire,  not  more  than  a  couple  of 
handfuls  of  figs.  The  phrase  "lovers  of 
raisin  cakes"  in  Hosea  3  :  1  belongs  in 
the  same  general  circle  of  ideas;  for 
there  the  "other  gods"  are  thought  of 
as  hiring  the  service  of  Israel  with  gifts 
of  raisin  cakes.  It  is  true  that  the  word 
"daughter"  does  not  occur  elsewhere  as 
indicative  of  price  or  value.  But  the 
terms  "son"  and  "daughter"  do  have 
a  much  wider  range  of  meaning  in  He- 
brew than  in  English.  They  are  used, 
for  example,  to  express  a  person's  age, 
viz.,  "Noah  was  a  son  of  five  hundred 
years,"  etc.,  i.  e,,  Noah  was  five  hundred 
years  old  (Gen.  5  :  32;  7:6,  etc.);  or 
to  denote  a  characteristic,  as  "Joseph  is 
a  son  of  a  fruitful  one,"  i.  e,,  Joseph  is 
a  fruitful  bough  (Gen.  49  :  22),  and  "a 
son  of  perverse  rebelliousness"  (I  Sam. 
20  :  30),  and  "a  vineyard  on  a  hill  a 
son  of  oil,"  i,  e,,  a  vineyard  on  a  very 
fertile  hill  (Isaiah  5:1),  and  "daughter 
of  troops,"  i.  e.,  warlike  one  (Micah  5:1). 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         123 

This  usage  comes  at  times  very  close  to 
the  idea  of  price  or  value,  as,  e.  g.,  in  "a 
son  of  death,''  i,  e.,  one  deserving  death 
(I  Sam.  20  :  31),  and  "a  son  of  smiting," 
i,  e.,  one  deserving  a  beating  (Deut. 
25  :  2).  Yet,  lacking  any  exact  parallel, 
we  cannot  dogmatically  assert  that  this 
must  be  the  true  interpretation  of  Go- 
mer's  name;  it  remains  only  an  attrac- 
tive possibility. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  light  shed 
upon  the  story  of  chapter  1  by  the  nar- 
rative of  chapter  3.  This  has  usually 
been  taken  as  a  record  of  Hosea's  love 
for  his  wife  which  led  him  to  go  after 
her  when  she  had  deserted  his  bed  and 
board  and  to  purchase  her  back  from  her 
paramour.  But  this  interpretation  en- 
counters serious  difficulties.  Why  should 
the  dissolute  Gomer,  whom  Hosea  by 
this  time,  according  to  hypothesis,  knows 
only  too  well,  be  spoken  of  to  him  not 
as  "thy  wife"  but  as  "a  woman"?  If 
his  runaway  wife   were  here  meant  we 


124    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

should  certainly  expect  a  much  more  def- 
inite and  specific  description  of  her  to 
her  deserted  husband  than  "a  woman." 
Again,  why  should  Hosea  have  pur- 
chased his  own  wife  from  her  paramour? 
Was  she  not  already  his  morally  and 
legally?  Or  was  Hosea  a  weakling  who 
dared  not  insist  upon  his  rights  and  was 
willing  to  purchase  peace  at  any  price, 
even  that  of  his  own  dishonour?  If  Ho- 
sea took  back  his  wife,  who  had  for- 
saken him  for  another  man,  would  not 
his  act  have  been  looked  upon  as  at 
least  as  scandalous  as  that  postulated  in 
Jer.  3:1?  The  silence  of  the  narrative 
regarding  the  desertion  of  Hosea  by  his 
wife  is  surprising.  It  is  not  mentioned 
at  all  but  taken  for  granted.  Yet  such 
a  step  on  Gomer's  part  would  have  been 
too  vital  an  element  in  the  situation  to 
be  ignored.  It  would  have  been  precisely 
the  sort  of  thing  of  which  Hosea  would 
have  made  splendid  use  in  setting  forth 
the  significance  of  his  marriage  for  Israel. 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         125 

These  difficulties  with  the  current  in- 
terpretation have  been  so  keenly  felt 
that  some  scholars  have  sought  to  avoid 
them  all  by  making  the  woman  of  chap- 
ter 3  to  be  another  than  Gomer.  But 
this  device  has  not  met  with  any  gen- 
eral approval,  and  rightly  so;  for  the 
experience  that  was  pedagogically  of 
value  upon  its  first  occurrence  would 
have  lost  all  novelty  and  value  if  re- 
peated. Instead  of  wondering  and  ques- 
tioning, Hosea's  contemporaries  would 
have  been  satisfied  to  set  him  down  as 
a  stark  fool  and  would  have  gone  about 
their  own  affairs  and  left  him  to  his  fate. 

A  suggestion  recently  made^  seems  to 
relieve  the  diflSculty  here.  Chapter  3  is 
not  the  record  of  a  later  stage  than 
chapter  1  in  the  marital  experience  of 
Hosea  but  is  rather  a  parallel  narrative 
recording  the  initiation  of  the  original 
marriage   with    Gomer.     The   record   of 

*  By  C.  Steuernagel,  Einleitung  in  das  Alte  Testament  (1912), 
p.  605. 


126    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

chapter  3  is  the  story  as  told  by  Hosea 
himself  in  the  first  person;  that  of  chap- 
ter 1  is  the  story  as  told  by  another. 
This  accounts  for  the  more  specific  and 
concrete  detail  of  chapter  3.  This  calls 
for  a  new  translation  of  3  :  1,  to  be  sure, 
but  it  is  a  translation  that  finds  its  jus- 
tification in  the  usage  of  numerous  other 
passages.  Instead  of  "And  Yahweh  said 
to  me.  Again  go,  love,"  etc.,  we  must 
render:  "And  Yahweh  said  to  me  again. 
Go,  love,"  etc.  For  illustration  of  this 
position  of  the  word  "again,"  see  Hosea 
2  :  16,  "Thou  wilt  not  call  me  again"; 
Isaiah  8  :  5,  "And  Yahweh  added  to 
speak  to  me  again";  Isaiah  62  :  4,  "It 
shall  not  be  said  to  thee  again."  This 
"again"  may  imply  that  Yahweh  had 
previously  urged  this  step  upon  Hosea 
without  efiFect,  as  in  the  case  of  Jonah. 
Or  it  may  merely  mean  that  the  com- 
mand to  marry  a  prostitute  was  not 
the  first  communication  between  Yahweh 
and  Hosea.     In  any  case,  this  transla- 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         127 

tion  delivers  us  from  the  hypothesis  of 
a  second  marriage  and  from  the  diffi- 
culty of  finding  an  explanation  for  Ho- 
sea's  purchase  of  his  renegade  wife.^ 
On  the  understanding  that  this  is  Hosea's 
own  story  of  the  first  and  only  mar- 
riage with  Gomer,  the  purchase  becomes 
at  once  natural.  Marriage  regularly  in- 
volved the  payment  of  a  dowry  to  the 
bride's  guardians;  cf.  the  story  of  Ja- 
cob's marriages  (Gen.  29  :  \5ff,).  The 
low  price  paid  for  the  bride,  according  to 
Hosea  3:1,  accords  well  with  the  in- 
terpretation of  "Gomer  bath  diblaim" 
(1  :  3)  as  "Gomer,  daughter  of  figs," 
which  is  suggested  above. 

On  the  basis  of  these  two  records  of 
the  marriage  we  may,  perhaps,  reconstruct 
the  story  of  Hosea's  experience  as  fol- 
lows :  Hosea,  a  prophet  already  burdened 
with  the  sense  of  his  people's  sin,  felt 
himself  called  upon  by  Yahweh  to  marry 


^Steuernagel  and  Toy  account  for  "again"  as  an  editorial 
gloss  made  to  join  the  two  narratives  chronologically. 


128    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

a  lewd  woman,  to  the  end  that  through 
such  a  marriage  he  might  open  the  eyes 
of  Israel  to  the  enormity  of  its  offence 
in  being  disloyal  to  Yahweh,  its  right- 
ful lord.  In  pursuance  of  this  convic- 
tion, Hosea  bought  Gomer,  a  woman 
living  in  public  shame  with  her  para- 
mour. But  he  at  once  placed  her  under 
restraint,  denying  her  association  with 
himself  as  well  as  with  others,  and  seek- 
ing by  such  discipline  to  fit  her  for  her 
position  as  his  wife.  This  phase  of  the 
experience  was  interpreted  for  Israel  as 
meaning  that  she  as  Yahweh's  bride 
must  be  disciplined  by  exile  before  she 
could  expect  to  enjoy  any  further  favour 
from  Yahweh.  After  this  period  of  re- 
straint for  Gomer  she  was  taken  by 
Hosea  into  his  home  and  became  the 
mother  of  three  children.  Each  of  these 
in  succession  was  given  a  prophetic 
name  and,  like  Isaiah's  children,  became 
a  walking  sermon  to  Israel  just  as  the  in- 
stitution of  the  marriage  itself  had  been. 


A  PROPHET^S  MARRIAGE         129 

In  this  connection  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  names  given  to  the  chil- 
dren need  cast  no  slur  upon  the  birth  of 
the  children  nor  upon  their  character. 
The  names  carried  by  Isaiah's  children 
certainly  were  not  meant  to  bear  any 
relation  whatsoever  to  the  children  them- 
selves. Hence,  the  names  are  not  nec- 
essarily proof  that  the  children  of  Hosea 
were  not  his  own. 

If,  however,  the  names  of  the  chil- 
dren and  the  fact  that  in  Hosea  1  :  2 
they  are  called  "children  of  whoredom," 
i.  e,,  children  of  harlotrous  parentage, 
should  seem  to  some  to  imply  that 
Gomer  was  unfaithful  to  Hosea  after 
her  marriage,  it  is  equally  possible  to 
suppose  that  Hosea  took  Gomer  into 
the  full  rights  of  wifehood  immediately 
upon  marrying  her.  In  that  case,  the 
birth  of  the  children,  who  were  of  doubt- 
ful parentage,  and  the  names  bestowed 
upon  them  did  but  impress  upon  the 
public  mind  more  deeply  the  lesson  of 


130    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  marriage  itself.  Then  after  exhaust- 
ing every  means,  supposably,  to  keep 
Gomer  in  the  path  of  virtue,  Hosea  put 
her  in  isolation;  and  there  the  story 
leaves  her,  to  preach  her  silent  sermon. 
If  it  be  objected  to  this  interpretation 
that  Hosea  could  not  have  loved  a 
woman  of  such  a  type,  it  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  he  is  not  anywhere  said  to 
have  loved  her.  The  nearest  approach 
to  such  a  statement  is  3:1,  where  Yah- 
weh  bids  him  "go,  love  a  woman,"  etc. 
But  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  the  very 
same  sentence  the  same  word  "love" 
(nns)  is  used  to  characterise  the  relation- 
ship between  the  woman  in  question  and 
her  paramour.  The  word  frequently  is 
used  to  denote  mere  carnal  passion  {e.  g., 
II  Sam.  13  :  1,  4,  15;  I  Kings  11  :  1,  2), 
having  no  suggestion  of  genuine  spiritual 
love.  The  fact  is  that  early  Hebrew 
had  no  word  strictly  corresponding  to 
"marry,"  and  in  issuing  a  command  to 
marry   it   was    necessary    to    use    some 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         131 

descriptive  phrase,  such  as  "take  a 
Avoman"  (Hosea  1:2),  or  "become  a 
daughter's  husband"  (Deut.  7:3),  or 
"love  a  woman."  Love  is  not  subject 
to  orders,  and  even  a  prophet  could  not 
command  his  feelings  to  the  extent  of 
loving  in  the  true  sense  whenever  and 
wherever  Yahweh  told  him  to  love. 
Yahweh's  command  was  really  nothing 
more  than  "Go,  marry  a  woman."  Nor 
was  it  necessary  that  true  love  on  Ho- 
sea's  part  should  enter  into  the  marriage 
at  all.  The  lesson  of  the  marriage  for 
Israel  was  not  dependent  upon  any  deep 
feeling  toward  Gomer  on  Hosea's  side. 
The  essential  thing  was  that  Hosea  had 
taken  Gomer  under  his  roof  and  had 
thereby  become  responsible  for  her  sup- 
port and  likewise  entitled  to  her  un- 
divided loyalty.  Lacking  this  on  her 
part,  the  marriage  must  be  suspended, 
or  broken  off,  until  such  time  as  she  is 
found  to  be  worthy  of  restoration.  In 
like  manner  Yahweh  had   taken   Israel 


132    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

from  among  the  nations  to  be  his  own 
people.  He  had  showered  prosperity 
upon  her  and  given  her  every  reason  to 
remain  true  and  faithful  to  him.  She, 
however,  had  taken  up  the  worship  of 
other  gods  and  was  thus,  at  least,  shar- 
ing her  devotion  between  Yahweh  and 
them.  This  state  of  aflPairs  could  not 
continue  indefinitely;  Yahweh  would  not 
endure  it.  Its  only  possible  outcome  was 
exile  and  captivity. 

No  serious  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact 
that  such  a  marriage  was  in  the  highest 
degree  sensational  in  character.  This 
very  fact  made  it  of  the  greater  value  in 
Hosea's  eyes.  The  prophets  were  never 
deterred  from  any  course  by  the  fear 
of  its  being  considered  startling.  The 
standards  of  taste  of  that  day  were  not 
identical  with  ours;  but  the  prophets 
were  not  afraid  to  violate  such  stand- 
ards as  there  were.  Isaiah  walked  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem  in  stark  nakedness; 
Ezekiel  broke  through  the  wall  of  his 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         133 

own  house  and  moved  out  his  goods  un- 
der cover  of  the  dark;  Jeremiah  dragged 
his  dirty  Hnen  before  the  pubHc  eye. 
Hosea  is  moving  along  the  same  Hues 
when  he  marries  a  harlot  and  declares  it 
to  be  in  obedience  to  Yahweh's  behest. 

To  take  this  view  of  Hosea' s  marriage 
is  not  to  make  Hosea  less  of  a  prophet 
but  more.  He  is  seen  to  be  a  man 
whose  whole  life,  even  in  its  most  inti- 
mate relationships,  was  held  subject  to 
the  control  of  Yahweh.  He  seeks  every 
possible  way  to  impress  the  message  of 
Yahweh  upon  Israel  and  does  not  hesi- 
tate to  forego  the  possibility  of  a  happy 
home  life — yea,  even  to  doom  himself 
to  a  miserable  existence — if  thereby  he 
can  the  more  effectively  deliver  his  mes- 
sage. In  this  respect  he  recalls  the  ex- 
perience of  Jeremiah  who  deliberately 
denied  himself  the  joys  of  home  life  for 
a  similar  reason,  and  that  of  Ezekiel, 
who  forbade  himself  the  natural  expres- 
sion of  his  grief  when  his  heart  was  bro- 


134    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

ken  by  the  death  of  his  wife.  Hosea 
thus  becomes  one  more  illustration  of 
the  strength  of  the  passion  of  self-sacri- 
fice exercised  in  behalf  of  patriotism  and 
religion. 

The  record  of  such  an  experience  as 
this  marriage  warns  us  not  to  make  the 
mistake  of  classifying  the  prophets  as 
men  of  ordinary  and  especially  of  modern 
minds.  The  possibilities  of  prophetic 
action  may  not  be  restricted  to  those 
things  which  a  modern  man  would  natu- 
rally do  or  say.  The  consciousness  that 
they  were  merely  instruments  in  the 
hands  of  Yahweh  put  the  prophets  into 
a  class  by  themselves.  This  fixed  idea 
lay  behind  all  their  thought  and  action. 
They  did  not  hold  themselves  respon- 
sible for  their  words  and  deeds;  it  was 
Yahweh's  hand  that  pointed  out  to  them 
their  duty.  "Their's  not  to  reason  why; 
their's  but  to  do  and  die."  Men  who 
have  thus  surrendered  their  minds  and 
wills,  or  have  thus  seated  their  minds 


A  PROPHET'S  MARRIAGE         135 

upon  the  throne  of  God,  identifying 
their  own  mental  operations  with  the 
movements  of  the  divine  thought,  are 
in  great  danger.  Genius  is  said  to  lie 
next  door  to  madness;  prophecy  cer- 
tainly was  very  near  the  border  line. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  the  two  spheres 
of  insanity  and  prophecy  were  so  closely 
associated  in  early  Israelitish  thought 
(see  page  45).  The  actions  of  Isaiah 
(20  :  2/.)  and  Ezekiel  would  certainly 
at  the  present  day  be  taken  as  indica- 
tive of  insanity,  and  they  were  evidently 
only  slightly  less  startling  in  that  day 
than  they  would  be  now.  Our  insane 
asylums  contain  many  men  and  women 
who  look  upon  themselves  as  the  spokes- 
men or  agents  of  God.  The  prophets 
were  saved  from  the  danger  of  becoming 
madmen  by  the  fact  that  they  kept  so 
closely  in  touch  with  life  in  all  its  phases. 
They  never  ceased  to  be  practical  men. 
Consequently  they  developed  a  breadth 
of  vision  that  kept  them  from  becoming 


136    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

absurd  or  impossible.  Their  sanity  was 
of  the  largest  order  and  enabled  them  to 
stand  the  strain  that  would  have  torn 
smaller  minds  from  their  moorings.  But 
in  attempting  to  understand  their  mo- 
tives and  their  policies  we  must  never 
lose  sight  of  their  absolute  resignation 
of  the  right  to  call  their  souls  their  own. 


VI 

THE  PROPHET  AND  THE 
STATE 

The  prophet's  objective  was  the  wel- 
fare of  the  state.  Not  until  the  days 
of  Ezekiel  was  serious  attention  given  to 
the  "cure  of  souls"  (see  following  chap- 
ter). The  prophet  did  not  wholly  ignore 
the  individual,  to  be  sure;  but  his  inter- 
est in  him  was  determined  by  his  value 
and  significance  for  the  community  as  a 
whole.  In  so  far  as  individuals  affected 
the  life  of  the  nation,  the  prophet  was 
concerned  with  them,  but  not  with  in- 
dividuals for  their  own  sake. 

The  prophet's  consuming  desire  was 
the  consummation  of  the  glory  of  the 
kingdom  of  Yahweh.  This  kingdom  of 
Yahweh  was  for  the  prophet  no  esoteric 
society   but   the  actually  existing  king- 

137 


138    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

dom  of  Israel.  This  was  the  object  of 
his  affections  and  the  centre  of  all  his 
hopes.  Not  until  the  futility  of  expect- 
ing any  great  political  glory  for  Israel 
was  fully  apparent  did  the  prophets 
abandon  the  hope  of  the  kingdom  as  a 
whole  and  turn  their  faces  toward  an 
Israel  within  Israel. 

The  religious  life  of  both  the  prophet 
and  his  audience  found  expression  in  a 
state  church.  The  interests  of  church 
and  state  were  inextricably  mixed.  What 
concerned  the  one  was  of  vital  interest 
to  the  other.  Samuel  apparently  not 
only  anointed  but  had  much  to  do  with 
the  selection  of  Saul,  the  first  King. 
Solomon  appointed  Zadok  chief  priest  in 
Jerusalem  (I  Kings  2  :  35).  Jehoiada 
the  priest  organised  the  conspiracy  that 
resulted  in  the  slaughter  of  Athaliah  and 
crowned  Jehoash  King  in  her  place  (II 
Kings  11  :  4-20).  The  Deuteronomic  re- 
form was  carried  through  under  the  aus- 
pices of  King  Josiah.     These  and  other 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  139 

such  facts  show  the  close  relationship  of 
sceptre  and  mitre.  All  the  citizens  of  the 
state  were  at  the  same  time  members  of 
the  church.  While  there  might  be  op- 
posing political  parties  on  any  given  is- 
sue, all  parties  alike  swore  allegiance  to 
Yahweh  as  the  national  God.  From  the 
founding  of  the  monarchy  on  down  there 
were  never  any  serious  contenders  with 
Yahweh  for  the  position  as  head  of  the 
state  religion.  Nor  was  there  ever  any 
movement  looking  to  the  abohtion  of  a 
state  religion  as  such.  The  place  of  Yah- 
wism  in  Israel  was  assured.  The  prophet 
consequently  was  not  so  much  struggling 
for  the  preservation  of  the  existence  of 
Yahwism  as  he  was  insisting  upon  his 
people  and  government  giving  full  and 
free  course  to  Yahweh's  will  as  he  re- 
vealed it  unto  them.  This  brought  the 
prophet  into  close  touch  with  practically 
every  phase  of  the  social  and  political 
life  of  Israel  and  made  the  range  of  his 
interests  and  activities  as  wide  as  those 


140    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

of  the  nation.  Inevitably,  therefore,  the 
prophet  who  adequately  discharged  his 
mission  was  called  upon  to  be  a  states- 
man. He  was  Yahweh's  ambassador  to 
Israel.  The  aim  of  this  chapter  is  to 
indicate  by  some  examples  the  ways 
in  which  and  the  degree  to  which  the 
prophet  met  this  demand  to  furnish 
guidance  in  the  political  turmoil  and 
confusion  of  the  times. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury B.  C,  a  struggle  for  the  supremacy 
in  Canaan  set  in  between  the  Philistines 
and  the  Hebrews.  In  its  earlier  stages 
Israel  was  unable  to  hold  its  own.  The 
Philistines  were  victors  on  the  battle- 
field (I  Sam.  4);  they  captured  the  ark 
of  Yahweh  itself  (4  :  11);  and  they 
reduced  Israel  to  humiliating  bondage 
(I  Sam.  13  :  19-23).  An  occasional  vic- 
tory, however,  served  to  buoy  up  the 
spirits  of  the  Hebrews  (I  Sam.  7  :  9^.). 
Israel's  weakness  and  disgrace  lay  heav- 
ily   upon    the    minds    of    the    prophets. 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  141 

Bands  of  prophetic  patriots  roamed  up  . 
and  down  the  land  seeking  to  arouse 
enthusiasm  and  courage  in  Israel  for  a 
supreme  effort  toward  the  attainment 
of  liberty  for  the  nation  and  glory  for 
Yahweh.  One  prophet  of  commanding 
personality  recognised  that  the  need  of  ^ 
the  day  was  unification  and  eflScient 
leadership.  He  not  only  saw  that  need 
but  found  the  man  to  meet  it.  Hence, 
when  the  young  Saul  came  to  Samuel 
looking  for  his  lost  asses,  he  found  far 
more  than  he  had  anticipated.  Samuel 
inspired  him  with  a  vision  of  his  people's 
needs  and  of  his  own  opportunity  and 
sent  him  on  his  way  thinking  of  greater 
things  than  straying  donkeys.  Thus, 
when  the  critical  moment  came  Saul 
was  ready  to  take  advantage  of  it  (I 
Sam.  11  :  1-11)  and  to  strike  an  effec- 
tive blow  for  freedom.  A  careful  com- 
parison of  the  conflicting  records  of  the 
establishment  of  the  monarchy  makes  it 
clear  that,  far  from  opposing  the  step. 


142    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

Samuel  was  the  leader  and  guide  in  the 
whole  movement.  The  representations 
to  the  contrary  in  I  Samuel  are  quite 
generally  recognised  as  reflecting  the 
point  of  view  of  later  times  regarding  the 
monarchy,  when  the  freedom-loving  He- 
brews had  come  to  feel  keenly  the  heavy 
burden  of  taxation  involved  in  the  main- 
tenance of  an  established  government 
and  a  standing  army.  But  Samuel  saw 
that  the  maintenance  of  Israel's  indepen- 
dent sovereignty  among  the  nations  was 
possible  only  under  the  leadership  of  a 
competent  king,  strong  enough  to  bind 
the  loosely  allied  clans  together  in  a 
firm  allegiance  and  courageous  enough 
to  lead  them  forth  under  Yahweh's  ban- 
ner to  victory  over  Philistia.  The  in- 
terests of  the  state  and  those  of  religion 
were  here  one  and  the  same.  For  should 
Israel  completely  have  lost  its  political 
liberty  at  this  early  day  the  religion  of 
Yahweh  would  have  disappeared  from 
the  face  of  the  earth.     A  god  who  could 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  143 

not  have  conquered  his  people's  foes 
could  never  have  won  his  people's  hearts 
or  retained  their  fealty. 

In  connection  with  the  death  of  David 
intrigues  developed  in  the  court  and  the 
royal  family,  and  rival  claimants  for  the 
succession  appeared.  Adonijah,  an  older 
son,  seemed  to  be  sweeping  everything 
before  him.  But  Nathan  the  prophet 
started  a  movement  in  favour  of  Solo- 
mon, and  with  the  aid  of  Bathsheba, 
his  mother,  secured  David's  indorsement 
of  Solomon's  coronation.  This  political 
activity  of  Nathan  the  prophet  in  sup- 
port of  Solomon  brings  to  mind  the  in- 
dorsement by  Ahijah  the  Shilonite  of  the 
revolt  of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat, 
from  Rehoboam,  Solomon's  son.  The 
motives  which  led  Nathan  to  support 
Solomon's  claim  for  the  throne  are  not 
apparent  to  us.  But  the  reasons  for 
Ahijah's  desertion  of  Solomon  and  Re- 
hoboam are  manifest.  Rehoboam's  auto- 
cratic programme,  his  utter  disregard  of 


144    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  protests  of  his  oppressed  subjects 
against  the  continuance  of  the  heavy 
burdens  of  taxation  and  forced  labour 
imposed  by  Solomon,  and  the  tolerance 
of  non-Hebraic  religions  and  customs  by 
both  Solomon  and  Rehoboam  (who  was 
himself  the  son  of  an  Ammonitess)  are 
clear  occasions  of  offence  to  Ahijah. 
Yahweh  was  the  defender  of  the  oppressed 
and  entitled  to  the  exclusive  devotion 
of  his  nation  in  the  thought  of  all  the 
prophets.  Ahijah  may  also  have  been 
influenced  by  other  considerations.  As 
an  inhabitant  of  Shiloh,  the  seat  of  an 
ancient  sanctuary,  he  may  have  resented 
the  prestige  acquired  by  the  new  temple 
at  Jerusalem.  As  a  northerner,  he  may 
have  objected  to  the  prominence  given 
to  Judah  by  the  Davidic  dynasty.  As  a 
prophet  whose  predecessors  had  made 
and  unmade  kings  he  may  have  feared 
the  loss  of  prophetic  influence  over  a  king 
who  owed  his  elevation  to  the  throne  in 
no  way  to  the  prophets.     Whatever  the 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  145 

dominating  motives  may  have  been,  Ahi- 
jah  and  his  colleagues  did  not  hesitate 
to  throw  the  whole  weight  of  the  prophetic 
influence  on  the  side  of  revolt  and  dis- 
ruption. 

The  same  policy  of  opposition  and 
conspiracy  against  the  reigning  house 
was  pursued  by  Elijah  and  Elisha.  Ac- 
cording to  I  Kings  19  :  16  and  II  Kings 
9  :  1^.,  both  Elijah  and  Elisha  sought 
the  overthrow  of  Ahab's  house,  which 
was  consummated  by  Jehu.  The  under- 
lying causes  for  this  breach  between  the 
prophet  and  the  King  were  in  essence 
the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the  disruption. 
Ahab  and  his  Queen  showed  too  much 
favour  to  the  Baal  of  Tyre  to  please  the 
jealous  representative  of  Yahweh.  That 
Ahab  in  no  sense  proposed  to  forsake  or 
repudiate  Yahweh  is  quite  clear.  He 
named  his  children  in  honour  of  Yahweh, 
viz.:  Ahaziah,  Athaliah,  and  Joram,  all 
compounds  including  the  divine  name 
Yah.     When  needing  an  oracle  regard- 


146    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

ing  the  outcome  of  the  attack  upon 
Ramoth-Gilead,  Ahab  was  able  to  sum- 
mon four  hundred  prophets  of  Yahweh 
to  his  aid.  Nor  was  the  danger  of  the 
triumph  of  BaaHsm  so  imminent  as  the 
records  of  EUjah's  campaign  against  it 
would  lead  us  to  think.  For  when  Jehu 
sent  out  word  to  gather  all  the  wor- 
shippers of  Baal  to  a  great  festival  in 
honour  of  Baal  the  whole  company  was 
not  so  large  but  that  it  could  be  accom- 
modated within  the  precincts  of  a  sin- 
gle shrine  (II  Kings  10  :  18-28).  But 
Elijah  resented  any  recognition  by  the 
government  of  any  other  god  than  Yah- 
weh; hence  he  condemned  Ahab  and 
denounced  him.  The  episode  of  Na- 
both's  vineyard  represents  the  other  ele- 
ment of  Ahab's  policy  which  was  ob- 
noxious to  the  prophets.  It  was  part 
and  parcel  of  the  same  autocratic  spirit 
and  method  to  which  the  yeomen  of  Is- 
rael had  objected  in  the  time  of  Solo- 
mon and  Rehoboam.     It  was  in  direct 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  147 

conflict  with  the  freedom-loving  democ- 
racy of  the  north,  which  ever  became 
restless  under  the  heavy  hand  of  despot- 
ism. Thus  Ehjah  utihsed  both  rehgious 
and  social  forces  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  purpose  against  Ahab. 

Ahab,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the 
strongest  King  who  had  thus  far  occu- 
pied the  throne  of  the  northern  king- 
dom. He  had  come  to  the  kingdom  at 
a  time  when  strength  and  strategy  were 
called  for  by  the  situation  developing  in 
western  Asia.  Ahab  saw  that  he  was 
involved  in  a  great  struggle  and  strained 
every  nerve  to  bring  victory  to  his  side. 
Assyria  was  pushing  westward  and  on 
toward  Egypt.  The  little  states  of  Syria 
dropped  their  petty  wars  with  one  an- 
other and  combined  their  resources  to 
repel  the  invader.  Ahab  co-operated  in 
this  movement.  He  maintained  an  al- 
liance with  Tyre,  having  married  its 
King's  daughter;  he  made  alliance  with 
Judah,  and,  dropping  the  bitter  hostili- 


148    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

ties  with  Damascus,  he  entered  upon  al- 
liance there,  too.  Thus  at  peace  on  ev- 
ery side,  he  joined  in  the  common  effort 
to  beat  back  Assyria.  In  854  B.  C.  battle 
was  joined  at  Karkar  between  Shalma- 
neser  of  Assyria  and  twelve  kings  of  the 
West-land,  of  whom  Ahab  was  one;  and 
his  quota  of  troops  was  one  of  the 
largest  among  the  allies.  The  struggle 
was  indecisive  and  was  renewed  again 
in  850,  849,  and  846  B.  C.  The  only 
possible  chance  for  success  in  this  strug- 
gle for  life  on  the  part  of  the  West-land 
lay  in  the  whole-hearted  support  of  all 
the  governments  endangered.  Ahab,  as 
a  shrewd  statesman,  saw  the  danger  and 
did  his  best  to  meet  it.  Elijah  appar- 
ently saw  and  cared  nothing  in  regard 
to  the  interests  that  Ahab  held  dear. 
He  therefore  pestered  Ahab  with  con- 
stant preachments  regarding  exclusive 
loyalty  to  Yahweh  and  full  recognition 
of  the  rights  of  Hebrew  farmers.  To 
Ahab,  concerned  with  weighty  matters  of 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  149 

state,  these  affairs  that  meant  so  much 
to  EHjah  must  have  seemed  trifling,  and 
it  is  no  wonder  that  he  broke  out  in 
anger  against  the  prophet:  "Is  it  thou, 
thou  troubler  of  Israel?"  But,  after  all, 
Ahab  was  concerned  with  the  things  that 
are  of  but  passing  moment,  while  Elijah 
and  his  followers  were  devoted  to  the 
things  that  are  of  eternal  significance. 
No  matter  how  effectively  Ahab  and  his 
allies  might  mass  their  resources,  the  final 
victory  of  Assyria  was  inevitable.  The 
political  independence  of  Israel  could 
not  be  maintained.  But  the  spiritual  su- 
premacy of  Israel  was  not  dependent 
upon  political  success.  The  prophet  who 
wrought  for  the  elevation  of  Israel's 
religious  and  ethical  standards  was  giv- 
ing himself  to  a  work  that  had  enduring 
foundations. 

A  century  and  more  after  Elijah's 
time  we  find  Isaiah  holding  forth  pro- 
phetic ideals  in  Judah.  His  lot  was  cast 
in   troublous  times.     One  critical  situa- 


150    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

tion  succeeded  another  with  but  short 
intermission.  There  was  need  of  wise  gui- 
dance, courageous  faith,  and  strong  en- 
durance. It  was  no  easy  task  that  con- 
fronted those  who  held  the  helm  of  state 
in  Isaiah's  day.  The  first  crisis  in  his 
lifetime  was  the  Syro-Ephraimite  inva- 
sion of  Judah  in  735  B.  C.  The  Httle 
states  of  western  Asia  were  again  con- 
spiring together  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
Assyrian  peril.  This  time  they  had  a 
powerful  ally  in  the  kingdom  of  Urartu, 
located  around  Lake  Van  in  Armenia. 
Just  when  Tiglath-pileser  IV  was  dev- 
astating Urartu,  Syria  and  Ephraim,  with 
Philistia,  formed  a  coalition  against  him. 
Into  this  they  sought  to  bring  Judah. 
But  Ahaz  was  either  neutral  or  else  pro- 
Assyrian  in  his  policy.  Consequently 
the  allies  set  upon  him  intending  to  force 
his  kingdom  into  compliance  with  their 
plans.  When  Pekah  and  Rezin  invaded 
Judah  terror  fell  upon  the  populace.  In 
the  expressive  words  of  Isaiah  7:2:  "His 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  151 

heart  was  moved,  and  the  heart  of  his 
people,  as  the  trees  of  the  forest  are  moved 
with  the  wind." 

At  this  juncture  Ahaz  and  his  court 
saw  no  alternative  but  to  appeal  to  As- 
syria for  aid.  This,  of  course,  meant  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  suzerainty  of 
Assyria  by  Judah  in  the  payment  of 
tribute  and  the  like.  But  Isaiah  was  of 
a  different  mould  and  protested  strongly, 
in  the  name  of  Yahweh,  against  any 
such  confession  of  weakness,  which  was 
in  the  last  analysis  a  confession  of  doubt 
in  Yahweh's  power  and  love.  Could 
not  and  would  not  Yahweh  save  his 
own  people,  without  the  intervention  of 
any  foreign  power  or  the  invocation 
of  any  foreign  gods.^  Indeed,  would 
not  Assyria  herself,  without  solicitation, 
swoop  down  upon  Syria  and  Ephraim, 
since  they  were  engaged  in  movements 
directed  against  her.?  In  any  case,  Isa- 
iah denounces  the  poHcy  of  appeal  to 
Nineveh    and    insists    upon    a    contrary 


152    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

policy  of  faith  in  Yahweh.  "If  you  will 
not  believe,  surely  you  will  not  be  estab- 
lished." He  assures  Ahaz  that  the  in- 
vasion will  come  to  naught  and  that  the 
invaders  will  themselves  be  destroyed. 
This  prediction  Isaiah  offers  to  confirm 
by  the  performance  of  a  sign;  and  when 
Ahaz  declines  the  opportunity  to  put 
him  to  the  test,  he  voluntarily  gives  him 
the  Immanuel  sign.  Whatever  else  this 
sign  may  or  may  not  signify,  it  evidently 
was  put  forward  as  conclusive  proof  that 
the  downfall  of  the  enemy  and  the  de- 
liverance of  Judah  were  near  at  hand. 
"For  before  the  child  (viz.,  Immanuel) 
shall  know  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose 
the  good,  the  land  whose  two  kings  thou 
abhorrest  shall  be  forsaken"  (Isaiah 
7  :  16). 

Isaiah's  protest  was  in  vain.  Ahaz 
refused  to  make  the  venture  of  faith. 
He  preferred  the  safe  course  of  submis- 
sion and  humiliation.  "So  Ahaz  sent 
messengers   to   Tiglath-pileser,    King   of 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  153 

Assyria,  saying,  I  am  thy  servant  and 
thy  son;  come  up  and  save  me  out  of 
the  hand  of  the  King  of  Syria,  and  out  of 
the  hand  of  the  King  of  Israel,  which 
rise  up  against  me.  And  Ahaz  took  the 
silver  and  the  gold  that  was  found  in 
the  house  of  Yahweh  and  in  the  treasures 
of  the  King's  house,  and  sent  it  for  a 
present  to  the  King  of  Assyria.  And 
the  King  of  Assyria  hearkened  unto  him; 
and  the  King  of  Assyria  went  up  against 
Damascus  and  took  it,  and  carried  its 
people  captive  to  Kir,  and  slew  Rezin" 
(II  Kings  16  :  7/.). 

In  713-711  B.  C.  another  attempt  to  , 
repudiate  Assyria  was  made  by  the 
western  states.  As  we  learn  from  Sar- 
gon's  own  records,  the  conspiring  states 
were  Egypt,  Ashdod,  Edom,  Moab,  and 
Judah.  Isaiah's  attitude  on  this  occa- 
sion, as  shown  in  Isaiah  20,  was  one  of 
unalterable  opposition  to  the  whole  move- 
ment. He  saw  no  possibility  of  anything 
but  defeat  and  failure.  The  hopes  of  the 


154    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

conspirators  were  not  without  a  certain 
measure  of  plausibility.  A  new  and  vig- 
orous Ethiopian  dynasty  was  now  in 
control  of  Egypt.  Was  not  Egypt  a 
great  power,  a  worthy  rival  of  Assyria? 
With  her  aid,  might  not  victory  be  won? 
The  scene  of  the  struggle  was  far  re- 
moved from  the  Assyrian  home  base, 
thus  constituting  in  itself  a  heavy  handi- 
cap upon  her  efforts.  Furthermore,  Me- 
rodach-baladan,  with  the  aid  of  the  King 
of  Elam,  had  wrested  from  Sargon  the 
independence  of  Babylon  and  was  a 
constant  source  of  trouble  to  Assyria 
from  722  to  710  B.  C.  This  loss  of  pres- 
tige and  power  to  Assyria  was,  of  course, 
known  and  rejoiced  in  throughout  all 
the  west.  Another  vigorous  foe  was  ac- 
tive in  the  north,  where  Urartu  had  re- 
asserted itself  after  its  overthrow  by  Tig- 
lath-pileser  IV.  It  had  incited  other 
neighbouring  peoples  to  revolt.  Hence 
Sargon  was  kept  busy  with  expeditions 
against    Urartu    and    the    north,    which 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  155 

followed  one  another  in  rapid  succession, 
viz.,  in  719,  718,  716,  715,  714,  713,  and 
711  B.  C.  Thus,  with  Elam  and  Baby- 
lonia co-operating  on  the  east  and  south, 
Urartu  and  its  neighbours  from  Lake 
Urumia  to  the  Mediterranean  in  revolt 
on  the  north,  and  the  states  of  Syria- 
Palestine  combining  with  Egypt  and  cer- 
tain Arabian  tribes  on  the  west  and  south, 
it  is  not  to  be  set  down  as  political  and 
military  stupidity  that  the  leaders  of  Ju- 
dah  believed  it  possible  to  obtain  free- 
dom from  the  galling  yoke  of  Assyria. 
But  Isaiah  in  most  sensational  and  per- 
sistent manner  urged  upon  his  country- 
men to  refrain  from  entering  into  this 
movement.  That  his  advice  was  disre- 
garded we  know  only  from  the  fact  that 
Sargon  lists  Judah  among  his  foes  upon 
this  occasion.  What  caused  Isaiah  to 
oppose  this  which  was  apparently  so  pa- 
triotic and  so  promising  an  undertaking 
we  are  not  told.  He  may  have  been  a 
keener  student  of  the  situation  than  the 


156    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

partisans  of  the  anti-Assyrian  programme 
and  have  foreseen  the  certain  faikire  of 
the  enterprise  because  of  his  more  ac- 
curate estimate  of  the  strength  of  the 
opposing  forces.  Or  he  may  have  op- 
posed the  pohcy  for  purely  reHgious  rea- 
sons. Co-operation  on  the  part  of  Yah- 
weh's  people  with  heathen  peoples  was 
an  insult  to  Yahweh.  Was  he  not  able 
to  obtain,  unaided,  whatever  he  wished 
his  people  to  possess?  To  join  hands 
with  the  worshippers  of  other  gods  was 
to  show  distrust  of  Yahweh's  power  and 
to  recognise  the  claims  of  his  rivals.  In 
any  case,  the  issue  of  events  vindicated 
Isaiah's  counsel. 

Once  again  does  Isaiah  come  to  the 
fore  in  an  effort  to  influence  the  coun- 
sels of  state.  In  705  B.  C.  the  mighty 
Sargon  died  and  Sennacherib,  his  son, 
succeeded  him  upon  the  throne.  This 
change  of  rulers  seemed  to  the  liberty- 
loving  vassals  of  Assyria  to  offer  a  good 
opportunity  for  another  blow  for  free- 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  157 

dom.  The  prime  mover  in  this  revolt 
seems  to  have  been  Merodach-baladan, 
who  had  been  subdued  and  expelled  from 
Babylon  by  Sargon  in  710  B.  C.  In  705- 
704  he  again  seized  the  throne  of  Baby- 
lon and  held  it  against  Sennacherib  for  a 
period  of  from  six  to  nine  months.  In 
connection  with  this  attack  upon  Sen- 
nacherib he  stirred  up  revolt  also  in 
Phoenicia,  Philistia,  Egypt,  and  Judah. 
Jerusalem  became  a  maelstrom  of  plots 
and  counterplots.  Ambassadors  came 
there  from  Merodach-baladan  (Isaiah  39), 
from  Phihstia  (Isaiah  14  :  28/.),  and 
from  Egypt  (Isaiah  18).  Upon  all  this 
glow  of  preparation  and  enthusiasm  Isa- 
iah threw  cold  water  in  the  form  of 
predictions  of  failure  of  the  enterprise. 
He  sought  with  all  his  might  to  induce 
Hezekiah  and  his  advisers  to  remain 
loyal  to  Assyria.  In  735  B.  C.  he  had 
opposed  Ahaz  in  his  purpose  to  assume 
gratuitously  the  yoke  of  Assyria's  suze- 
rainty; but  in  711  and  in  701  alike  his 


158    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

advice  was  to  abide  faithfully  by  the 
obligations  they  had  voluntarily  assumed. 
He  assured  the  government  that  to  de- 
pend upon  Egypt  for  aid  was  but  to 
lean  upon  a  broken  reed;  she  had  never 
kept  her  promises  and  was  unable  to  do 
so  now  (Isaiah  30  :  5  jf.;  3  :  1-9).  He 
counselled,  as  before,  that  Israel  should 
trust  in  Yahweh,  forsake  sin,  and  refrain 
from  political  intrigue.  His  whole  mes- 
sage might  be  summarised  as  "trust  in 
Yahweh  and  do  good  and  thou  shalt 
inherit  the  land." 

The  currents  running  against  Isaiah 
were  too  deep  and  strong.  His  objections 
were  swept  aside.  Hezekiah  and  his 
court  were  carried  blithely  into  the  con- 
flict. When  the  irrevocable  step  had 
been  taken,  Isaiah  consistently  continued 
to  interpret  the  will  of  Yahweh  as  bod- 
ing ill  for  Judah.  Here  belong  such  ora- 
cles as  1  :  2-17;  22  :  1-14;  and  17  :  12- 
18 : 6.  The  Assyrian  is  the  rod  in  Yah- 
weh's    hands    wherewith    he   will   smite 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  159 

Israel  for  its  sins.     Nothing  but  disaster 
awaits  Jerusalem. 

And  in  that  day  did  the  Lord,  Yahweh  of  hosts, 

call 
To  weeping  and  to  mourning  and  to  baldness 

and  to  the  girding  on  of  sackcloth. 
But,  lo,  there  was  rejoicing  and  mirth. 
Killing  of  cattle  and  slaughtering  of  sheep. 
Eating  of  flesh  and  drinking  of  wine; 
"Eat  and  drink — for  tomorrow  we  die." 
But  Yahweh  has  revealed  himself  in  my  ears: 
"Surely  this  guilt  shall  not  be  atoned  for  you 

until  you  die." 

The  outcome  of  the  movement  is  re- 
corded both  by  the  Old  Testament  and 
by  Sennacherib.  The  latter  relates  that 
he  first  of  all  subdued  Babylon  and  later 
came  west.  Here  he  first  attacked  the 
Phoenician  King  and  subdued  all  his  ter- 
ritory. He  then  received  submission  and 
tribute  from  certain  near-by  states  and 
also  from  Moab,  Ammon,  Edom,  and 
Ashdod.  He  next  continued  southward 
and  overthrew  the  rebel  cities  of  the 
Philistines.     At  this  stage  he  was  con- 


160    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

fronted  by  a  relieving  army  from  Egypt, 
which  he  defeated  at  Eltekeh.  He  then 
completed  the  subjection  of  Ekron  and 
secured  the  release  of  Padi,  its  King, 
who  had  been  held  captive  in  Jerusalem 
by  Hezekiah.  Judah  and  Jerusalem  were 
finally  attacked.  Forty-six  of  its  strong 
towns  and  fortresses  were  besieged  and 
captured.  Hezekiah  was  shut  up  in  Je- 
rusalem like  a  bird  in  a  cage.  Two  hun- 
dred thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty 
captives  and  innumerable  oxen,  horses, 
cattle,  etc.,  were  taken  as  prey.  Many 
of  Judah's  cities  were  turned  over  to  Ek- 
ron, Ashdod,  and  Gaza.  A  heavy  indem- 
nity was  paid  by  Hezekiah;  tribute  was 
paid,  and  the  lordship  of  Assyria  rec- 
ognised. Then  Sennacherib  was  called 
back  to  his  own  land  by  the  outbreak  of 
fresh  troubles  there. 

This  report  agrees  in  its  essential 
features  with  that  given  in  II  Kings 
18  :  14-16.  But  there  are  also  given  in 
Kings  two  further  narratives  which  are 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  161 

found  also  in  duplicate  in  Isaiah  36  and 
37.  The  version  in  Isaiah  is  generally 
admitted  to  be  a  later  edition  of  the 
material  found  in  Kings.  The  two  sto- 
ries so  found  in  Isaiah  are  (1)  36  :  1-37  : 
7  and  37  :  37/.  and  (2)  37  :  9-36.  These 
are  duplicate  stories  of  the  same  series 
of  events.  They  represent  the  Assyrian 
as  demanding  the  surrender  of  the  capi- 
tal; Hezekiah  as  sending  in  despair  to 
Isaiah  for  aid;  Isaiah  as  assuring  the 
King  of  deliverance  and  as  praying  for 
Yahweh's  intervention  in  behalf  of  Jeru- 
salem; and  Yahweh  as  smiting  the  be- 
sieging army  by  night  with  a  fearful 
pestilence,  thus  fulfilling  the  prophet's 
prediction. 

We  note  in  this  story  certain  puzzling 
elements.  Why  did  Isaiah  suddenly 
change  his  mind?  Having  denounced 
the  whole  movement  toward  revolt  from 
the  beginning,  what  made  him  change 
his  attitude  when  precisely  that  which 
he  had  foretold  took  place?     Tirhakah 


162    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

(Isaiah  37  :  9)  of  Ethiopia  was  not  King 
until  688  B.  C,  thirteen  years  after  the 
event  with  which  he  is  here  connected. 
The  number  slain  by  pestilence  in  one 
night  is  without  parallel  in  the  records 
of  plagues,  even  of  the  most  virulent 
type.  There  is  no  allusion  to  any  such 
marvellous  deliverance  of  the  city  either 
in  Sennacherib's  account  or  in  the  book 
of  Isaiah,  aside  from  these  chapters  bor- 
rowed from  the  book  of  Kings.  It  is, 
therefore,  not  improbable  that  the  actual 
course  of  events  was  that  represented  on 
the  one  hand  by  Sennacherib  and  on  the 
other  by  II  Kings  18  :  14-16;  and  that 
the  balance  of  the  story  is  due  to  that 
homiletical  expansion  for  religious  pur- 
poses to  which  much  of  the  Hebrew  his- 
tory was  sooner  or  later  subjected. 

Further  pursuit  of  the  political  activi- 
ties of  the  prophets  would  reveal  Zeph- 
aniah  interpreting  the  oncoming  Scyth- 
ian invasion  as  the  advance  host  of  the 
day   of  Yahweh;    Jeremiah   counselling 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  163 

submission  and  surrender  to  Babylon 
when  every  drop  of  liberty-loving  blood 
in  Judah  was  crying  out  for  resistance 
to  the  oppressor;  Ezekiel  preparing  his 
fellow  exiles  for  the  fate  of  Jerusalem; 
Deutero-Isaiah  predicting  deliverance 
from  exile  and  kindling  faith  in  the  light 
of  Cyrus's  career  of  conquest;  and  Hag- 
gai  and  Zechariah  urging  the  rebuilding 
of  the  temple  and  predicting  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Messianic  kingdom 
under  Zerubbabel,  because  they  inter- 
preted the  revolts  after  the  death  of 
Cambyses  as  portending  the  collapse  of 
the  Persian  Empire. 

In  view  of  such  facts  as  the  foregoing 
it  is  evident  that  any  successful  study 
of  prophecy  must  involve  a  careful  study 
of  history.  The  prophet  was  vitally  in-  . 
terested  in  the  politics  of  his  day,  both 
international  and  local.  He  needed  to 
be  a  close  student  of  the  political  situa- 
tion. He  could  not  and  did  not  hold 
himself  aloof  from  affairs  of  state.     On 


164    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  contrary,  he  not  infrequently  thrust 
his  advice  upon  his  rulers  unasked.  His 
work,  for  the  most  part,  fell  in  an  age 
when  the  world  was  the  prey  of  contend- 
ing gods.  It  was  his  task  to  represent 
the  claims  of  Yahweh  in  the  conflict  and 
to  enforce  them  upon  his  people  in  gen- 
eral and  the  rulers  in  particular.  This 
he  sought  to  achieve  by  offering  ever 
afresh  an  interpretation  of  past  and 
present  history  from  Yahweh's  point  of 
view.  This  involved  upon  the  prophet's 
part  more  or  less  of  constant  adjustment 
and  readjustment  to  the  changing  con- 
ditions of  his  day.  The  argument  for 
Yahweh's  claims  that  served  one  decade 
not  uncommonly  was  useless  for  the 
succeeding  decade.  The  prophet  was 
forced  by  the  issues  with  which  he  had 
to  deal  to  change  his  standpoint  from 
time  to  time  and  to  enlarge  his  range 
of  vision.  Only  so  could  he  keep  his 
religion  in  vital  contact  with  the  needs 
of  his  age.     He  was  driven  on  by  the 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  165 

pressure  of  events  to  new  discoveries. 
We  see  him  ever  moulding  new  truths 
upon  the  wheel  of  circumstance.  He 
sought  to  shape  history  and  succeeded 
better  than  he  knew.  But  it  is  no  less 
true  that  history  likewise  left  its  mark 
upon  him.  For  his  message  was  in  large 
part  given  to  him  by  the  circumstances 
of  his  times.  Out  of  them  he  read  the 
will  of  God  and  in  them  he  saw  the  hand 
of  God  at  work. 

When  political  disaster  threatened  his 
people,  the  prophet  utilised  the  occasion 
to  urge  upon  them  Yahweh's  demand  for 
social  morality  and  spiritual  worship. 
Calamity  was  but  Yahweh's  chastisement 
for  sin.  New  moral  ideals  and  loftier 
spiritual  aims  were  brought  forth  under 
the  castigation  of  the  enemy's  rod.  By 
responding  to  the  demands  of  Yahweh 
thus  enforced,  the  prophet  sought,  as  it 
were,  to  force  Yahweh  to  be  gracious. 
When  Israel,  in  the  face  of  repeated  mis- 
fortune and  long-continued  oppression  at 


166  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  hands  of  her  foes,  began  to  doubt 
whether  or  not  Yahweh  was  after  all 
worthy  of  the  confidence  placed  in  him 
and  whether  other  gods  might  not  be 
more  powerful,  then  the  prophet  met  the 
situation  by  making  Yahweh  the  God 
of  the  world  and  denying  the  reality  of 
all  other  gods.  In  the  movement  to- 
ward this  monotheistic  standpoint,  it  is 
probable  that  prophecy  was  aided  by  the 
familiarity  with  world-embracing  con- 
ceptions forced  upon  them  by  the  long- 
continued  conflict  with  Assyria,  the  great 
world-power.  When,  accepting  this  point 
of  view,  Israel  raised  the  further  ques- 
tion as  to  the  justice  of  a  God  who 
could  permit  even  more  wicked  peoples 
to  chastise  and  triumph  over  his  own 
relatively  just  and  pious  nation,  the 
prophet  responded  with  a  new  concep- 
tion of  Israel's  mission  in  the  world  and 
a  new  interpretation  of  the  significance 
of  her  suffering;  see  the  descriptions  of 
the  servant  of  Yahweh  in  Isaiah  40-55. 


PROPHET  AND  STATE  167 

Such  contact  with  the  world  at  large 
was  indispensable  to  the  life  of  the 
prophet.  His  function  was  essentially  - 
national.  He  needed  the  free  air  of  all 
out-of-doors  and  the  stimulus  of  world 
movements  to  keep  the  spiritual  life  vig- 
orous and  healthy.  This  kept  him  from 
becoming  narrow  and  petty  in  his  aims 
and  sympathies.  The  history  of  proph- 
ecy is  sufficient  proof  of  this.  Not  till 
Israel  got  ready  to  assume  the  respon- 
sibility of  nationality  did  the  prophet 
proper  appear  in  her  life.  The  classical 
period  of  prophecy  was  the  age  during 
which  Assyria  was  remaking  the  map 
of  western  Asia  and  little  Israel  was 
making  the  gallant  fight  for  indepen- 
dence. When  that  independence  was  fi- 
nally and  hopelessly  lost,  prophecy  died. 
The  prophet  made  an  inestimable  con- 
tribution to  the  life  of  his  state;  but  the  " 
life  of  the  state  was  an  imperative  neces-  .  ^^lm 
sity  to  the  prophet.  '  J/m^^^ 


VII 

THE  PROPHET  AND  THE 
INDIVIDUAL  ^ 

The  centre  of  the  prophet's  interest 
was  always  the  welfare  of  the  nation. 
His  concern  was  with  national  problems, 
perils,  and  hopes.  The  interests  of  in- 
dividuals, as  such,  were  below  the  level 
of  his  gaze;  they  came  into  view  only 
in  so  far  as  they  affected  the  public  weal. 
The  early  soothsayer  or  seer  was,  to  be 
sure,  in  touch  with  individual  life  and 
primarily  concerned  therein;  but  the 
great,  outstanding  figures  of  the  classical 
period  of  prophecy  had  larger  interests 
at  heart.  And  yet  when  the  individ- 
ual finally  came  to  his  own  in  Hebrew 
thought   he  received  the  recognition  of 

» First  printed  under  the  title,  "The  Rise  of  Individualism 
among  the  Hebrews,"  in  The  American  Journal  of  Theology, 
vol.  X  (1906),  pp.  251-266. 

168 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      169 

his  rights  at  the  hands  of  the  proph- 
ets. 

In  early  Israel,  as  among  all  other 
primitive  Semitic  peoples/  the  solidarity 
of  the  family,  clan,  or  tribe  was  so  in- 
grained in  the  whole  life  and  thought  as 
to  render  it  extremely  diflScult  for  the 
consciousness  of  individuality  and  per- 
sonality to  assert  itself  and  vindicate  its 
rights.  The  idea  of  solidarity  finds  ex- 
pression everywhere  in  the  early  Hebrew 
literature.  Familiar  illustrations  of  its 
prevalence  and  power  are  seen  in  the 
case  of  the  destruction  of  Korah,  Dathan, 
and  Abiram  with  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren (Num.  16  :  ^7ff,);  in  the  punish- 
ment of  Achan  and  his  entire  family 
for  the  theft  of  the  ^'goodly  Babylonish 
mantle,  and  two  hundred  shekels  of 
silver,  and   a  wedge   of  gold"    (Joshua 

*  Cf.  W.  R.  Smith,  The  Religion  of  the  Semites^  pp.  32  Jf., 
274;  and  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia-,  pp.  25^. 
The  feeUng  of  the  soUdarity  of  the  clan  has  persisted  in 
Palestine  down  to  the  present  day  and  is  a  recognised  prin- 
ciple there  in  the  administration  of  Turkish  law;  see  Balden- 
sperger,  in  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly  Statement^ 
January,  1906,  p.  14. 


170    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

7  :  16-26);  in  Saul's  massacre  of  the 
entire  population  of  the  city  of  Nob 
(I  Sam.  22  :  16-19);  in  the  hanging  of 
the  children  of  Rizpah  and  Michal  to  ex- 
piate the  crime  of  their  grandfather  Saul 
(II  Sam.  21  :  1-9) ;  in  the  common  prac- 
tice of  blood-revenge  (II  Sam.  3  :  27-30; 
14  :  6-11;  Ex.  22  :  2/.;  Num.  35  :  9-34; 
Deut.  19  :  6;  Joshua  20  :  3,  etc);  in  the 
judicial  murder  of  Naboth's  sons  along 
with  their  father  (II  Kings  9  :  26);  in 
the  phraseology  of  the  second  com- 
mandment, "visiting  the  iniquities  of 
the  fathers  upon  the  children,  upon  the 
third  and  upon  the  fourth  generation  of 
them  that  hate  me"  (Ex.  20  :  5;  Deut. 
5  :  9;  cf,  Ex.  34  :  7  and  Num.  14  :  18); 
and  in  the  common  belief  of  later  times 
that  Israel's  sufferings  were  due  to  the 
sins  of  Manasseh  (Jer.  15  :  4;  23  :  26; 
24  :  3;  31  :  29;  Ezek.  18  :  2).  The  fact 
that  Amaziah,  King  of  Judah,  did  not 
avenge  the  murder  of  his  father  upon 
the   children   of   the   murderers  is  cited 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      171 

in  II  Kings  14  :  6  as  a  departure  from 
the  ordinary  custom.^  The  persistence  of 
the  doctrine  even  down  to  the  latest 
period  is  attested  by  the  stories  of  the 
hanging  of  Haman's  ten  sons  (Esther 
9  :  13/.)  and  of  the  casting  of  Daniel's 
accusers  and  their  families  with  them 
into  the  hons'  den  (Daniel  6  :  25).^ 
Prophecy  itself  was  dominated  by  this 
conception;  in  its  earlier  stages  the  na- 
tion was  always  thought  of  as  standing 
or  falling  as  a  whole.  This  in  some  mea- 
sure accounts  for  the  intensity  and  pas- 
sion of  the  prophet's  denunciations  of  the 
wicked — the  evil  consequences  of  their 
deeds  are  not  confined  to  themselves 
and  their  descendants,  but  involve  the 
destruction  of  the  whole  people,  good  as 

^  This  verse  as  it  now  stands  is,  of  course,  the  work  of  the 
redactor,  but  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  to  doubt  the  fact 
here  chronicled.  Cf,  the  remarks  of  Kittel  and  Benzinger, 
ad.  loc. 

2  The  question  of  the  historicity  of  these  stories  does  not 
materially  affect  their  bearing  upon  our  topic.  The  fact  that 
these  stories  are  told  with  approval  carries  with  it  an  accep- 
tance of  the  justice  of  the  custom  in  accordance  with  which 
children  were  punished  for  the  sins  of  their  parents. 


172  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

well  as  bad.  Many  influences  combined 
were  necessary  to  effect  a  modification 
and  weakening  of  this  controlling  senti- 
ment such  as  to  make  room  for  the 
growth  of  ideas  concerning  individual 
worth  and  responsibility  in  the  sight  of 
God. 

We  may  not  conclude,  however,  that 
the  individual  was  wholly  without  recog- 
nition in  early  Hebrew  life.  There  are 
too  many  evidences  to  the  contrary  for 
that,  even  if  such  a  stage  of  social  devel- 
opment could  be  found  anywhere.  The 
individual  has  never  and  nowhere  been 
able  to  sink  himself  wholly  in  the  social 
mass;  there  is  and  always  has  been  a 
certain  area  of  personal  experience  which 
differentiates  him  from  all  others.  The 
mass,  on  the  other  hand,  is  and  always 
has  been  conscious  of  certain  differenti- 
ating characteristics  in  the  members  of 
which  it  is  composed,  and  has  shown 
this  recognition  of  personality  by  its  will- 
ingness to  follow  certain  men  as  leaders 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      173 

in  various  kinds  of  activity.  The  He- 
brews were  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
Alongside  of  the  abundant  evidence  of 
the  dominance  of  the  feeling  of  social 
and  religious  solidarity  in  the  early  liter- 
ature of  Israel,  there  is  found  similar 
proof  of  the  fact  that  individuals  were 
valued  for  their  work's  sake,  and  that 
they  in  turn  felt  themselves,  at  least 
at  times,  to  be  the  objects  of  Yahweh's 
care  and  were  not  afraid  to  ask  for  per- 
sonal favours;  see,  e,  g,,I  Sam.  1 :  10 j^.; 
17  :  37.  Stories  like  those  regarding 
Gideon  and  Jephthah  clearly  demonstrate 
the  place  accorded  to  forceful  men  be- 
cause of  their  ability;  and  the  many 
personal  names  that  are  compounds  of 
the  name  Yahweh  show  the  strong  hold 
Yahweh  had  upon  the  personal  religious 
life;  e,  g.,  Jonathan  =  Yahweh  has  given; 
Joshua  =  Yahweh  has  dehvered.  But, 
granting  everything  of  this  sort,  it  re- 
mains true  that  in  early  Israel  the 
rights  of  the  individual,  especially  in  the 


174    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

sphere  of  religious  and  ethical  thought, 
had  not  come  to  full  recognition. 

Among  the  influences  working  toward 
the  complete  habilitation  of  the  indi- 
vidual as  an  individual,  one  of  the  ear- 
liest and  most  persistent  was  the  social 
and  industrial  life  of  Canaan  itself.  The 
clan  spirit  and  organisation  of  nomadic 
life  could  not  continue  indefinitely  in 
the  midst  of  the  settled  life  of  Canaan. 
Landownership  necessarily  tended  to  be- 
come individual  rather  than  commercial. 
Agricultural  life,  with  its  diversity  of  in- 
dustry, naturally  brought  the  individual 
to  the  front.  The  growth  of  large  towns, 
like  Jerusalem,  Samaria,  and  Bethel, 
furnished  greater  scope  for  individual 
effort  and  enterprise.  The  ever-increas- 
ing ramifications  of  trade  and  commerce 
constantly  afforded  new  fields  for  the 
development  of  individual  talent.^  In- 
tercourse and  amalgamation  with  the  ear- 
lier inhabitants,  the  necessity  of  learning 

» Of.  Day.  The  Social  Life  of  the  Hebrews  (1901),  p.  66. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      175 

from  them  the  art  of  agriculture,  and 
especially  the  relations  established  be- 
tween the  Israelite  and  the  "stranger," 
all  helped  to  hasten  the  deterioration  of 
the  clan. 

The  establishment  of  monarchical  gov- 
ernment operated  to  the  same  effect. 
The  monarch  and  his  house  waxed  strong 
at  the  expense  of  the  clans. ^  In  the  or- 
ganisation of  the  army,  clan  ties  were 
largely  disregarded;  the  basis  of  organi- 
sation was  numerical,  not  tribal;  there 
were  captains  of  fifties,  of  hundreds,  and 
of  thousands  (I  Sam.  8  :  12;  II  Sam. 
18  :  If.;  II  Kings  1  :  9-13).  To  mili- 
tary positions  of  honour  and  responsi- 
bility individuals  were  appointed,  not  on 
the  basis  of  tribal  affinities,  but  because 
of  merit  evidenced  by  conspicuous  deeds 
of  valour,  loyalty,  and  efficiency  (II 
Sam.  23  :  8-39).  The  very  existence  of 
a  standing  army  necessitated  the  ab- 
sence of  a  comparatively  large  number  of 

1  Cf.  Day,  op.  cit.,  p.  127. 


176    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

farmers  and  citizens  from  their  homes 
and  the  consequent  weakening  of  family 
ties  (cf,  II  Sam.  8  :  6,  14).  The  forced 
labour  employed  upon  public  works  by 
Solomon  and  his  successors  withdrew 
many  more  from  their  clan  associations 
for  long  periods  (I  Sam.  8  :  16).  In 
Solomon's  organisation  of  the  kingdom 
into  twelve  districts  the  clan  and  tribal 
limits  seem  to  have  been  disregarded 
(I  Kings  4  :  7-19).  The  estabhshment 
of  the  national  capital  at  Jerusalem  and 
the  erection  there  of  the  royal  temple 
drew  visitors,  traders,  and  residents  from 
all  parts  of  the  kingdom;  this  migratory 
movement  was  greatly  intensified  as  a 
result  of  the  centralisation  of  worship 
effected  in  Josiah's  reign.  The  free  in- 
tercourse and  interchange  of  ideas  thus 
arising  was  a  great  educative  influence 
tending  to  do  away  with  clannishness 
and  narrow  provinciahsm  and  to  elevate 
many  individuals  to  a  higher  plane  of 
thought  and  feehng.     Everything  which 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL       177 

strengthened  the  bonds  of  national  unity 
at  the  same  time  hastened  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  clan  organisation  and  the 
weakening  of  clan  loyalty. 

In  addition  to  these  and  other  social, 
economic,  and  political  influences,  there 
were  ethical  and  religious  forces  at  work 
preparing  the  way  for  the  incoming  of 
individualism.  The  sage  was  essentially 
individualistic  both  in  the  method  and 
the  substance  of  his  teaching.^     He  con- 


^  The  wisdom  literature  Is,  of  course,  of  postexilic  origin; 
hence  it  might  be  inferred  that  the  activity  of  the  sages  was 
an  outcome  of  the  adoption  of  the  individuaUstic  point  of 
view  rather  than  an  eflBcient  factor  in  the  development  of 
that  point  of  view.  It  is  scarcely  supposable,  however,  that 
a  type  of  literature  so  rich  in  content  and  so  widely  differing 
from  all  that  had  preceded  it  could  have  sprung  up,  as  it  were, 
in  a  night,  independently  of  any  preparatory  work.  It  is 
easier  to  believe  that  the  Wisdom  thought  had  representatives 
in  the  earlier  period  of  Hebrew  history,  and  that  this  school 
found  its  great  opportunity  for  influence  in  the  conditions  of 
the  exilic  and  postexilic  periods  and  at  that  time  came  to 
the  front  in  literary  activity.  Hints  to  this  effect  are  not 
wanting;  e.  g.,  Joab  employed  a  "wise  woman"  to  rebuke 
David  (II  Sam.  14  :  Iff.);  another  "wise  woman"  advised 
the  yielding  of  Sheba,  the  Benjamite,  to  Joab  (II  Sam. 
20  :  16  jf.);  tradition  ascribed  unparalleled  "wisdom"  to  Sol- 
omon (I  Kings  5  :  29-34;  10  :  4  /.;  Prov.  25  :  1);  and  in 
Jeremiah's  time  the  wise  men  are  clearly  differentiated  as  a 
recognised  class  ranking  along  with  the  priest  and  the  prophet 
(Jer.  18  :  18). 


178    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

cerned  himself  with  the  common,  prac- 
tical interests  of  ordinary,  every-day  life. 
He  met  men  face  to  face  on  the  streets 
and  at  the  city  gates  and  gave  them 
counsel  on  matters  arising  from  their 
relations  to  each  other  as  individuals. 
All  his  work  laid  emphasis  upon  the 
moral  responsibilities  of  individuals;  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  men  in  the  mass, 
but  confined  himself  to  the  individual 
member  of  society  and,  for  the  most 
part,  apparently,  to  the  affairs  of  private 
life.  The  whole  trend  and  influence  of 
his  work  from  the  outset  must  have  been 
individualistic  to  a  high  degree.  The 
outcome  of  his  activity  as  seen  in  the 
Wisdom  literature.  Proverbs,  Job,  Ec- 
clesiastes,  and  Ecclesiasticus — the  most 
individualistic  books  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment— is  sufiBcient  warrant  for  the  claim 
that  the  teachings  of  the  earlier  sages 
exerted  a  predominantly  individualistic 
influence. 

The  function  of  the  priesthood,  like- 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL       179 

wise,  though  primarily  national,  was  not  , 
without  its  individualistic  features.  The 
early  priest  was  the  attendant  at  the 
sanctuary  of  the  clan  or  tribe.  This 
function  as  minister  of  the  community 
persisted  all  through  Israel's  history;  it 
appears,  for  example,  in  the  case  of  Mi- 
cah's  Levite  (Judges  18  :  19/.);  of  Eli, 
priest  of  the  sanctuary  at  Shiloh;  of  Sam- 
uel sacrificing  at  Gilgal  and  at  Beth- 
lehem (I  Sam.  11  :  14;  16  :  1-13);  of 
the  priesthood  at  the  royal  shrines  of 
Bethel  and  Jerusalem;  and  especially 
of  the  priesthood  of^  the  second  temple. 
But,  in  connection  with  his  duties  in 
this  capacity,  the  priest  sustained  im- 
portant relations  toward  the  individual 
members  of  his  community.  To  him  fell 
the  task  of  adjudicating  between  them 
in  both  secular  and  religious  matters.  It 
was  his  function  to  instruct  them  as  to 
their  ceremonial  obligations  in  connec- 
tion with  sacrifices  and  offerings,  to  see 
to    the    observance    of    the    regulations 


180    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

concerning  clean  and  unclean,  and  to 
inspect  personally  all  cases  of  leprosy 
and  prescribe  the  course  to  be  pursued. 
In  these  and  many  other  ways  he  was 
brought  constantly  into  contact  with  in- 
dividuals, and  through  this  sort  of  ex- 
perience must  have  gained  some  con- 
ception of  the  relation  of  the  individual 
to  God.  The  legislation  of  the  Cove- 
nant and  Deuteronomic  Codes,  moreover, 
was  the  expression  in  statutory  form  of 
the  earlier  priestly  teachings  and  prac- 
tices, and  the  codification  of  these  laws 
was  itself  the  work  of  the  priest.  Much 
of  this  legislation,  both  ritualistic  and 
secular,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case, 
deals  with  individual  matters.  The  ad- 
ministration of  justice  is  necessarily  in- 
dividualistic in  tendency.^  The  rights  of 
the  individual  as  such  inevitably  assert 
themselves  sooner  or  later.  The  injus- 
tice of  punishing  one  man  for  the  crimes 
committed  by  another,  even  though  they 

^  See  Cornill,  Das  Buck  Jeremia  erkldrt  (1905),  p.  347. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      181 

may  be  of  the  same  blood,  cannot  be 
overlooked  for  long  in  a  progressive  com- 
munity. The  proper  relation  between 
crime  and  punishment  is  maintained  only 
when  it  is  the  criminal  himself  who  suf- 
fers the  punishment.  The  truth  of  this 
could  not  be  felt  in  the  sphere  of  civil 
and  criminal  law  without  at  the  same 
time  coming  to  recognition  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  divine  administration 
of  justice,  especially  among  a  people  who 
recognised  no  distinctions  of  sacred  and 
secular  in  law,  for  whom  all  law  was  of 
divine  origin  and  authority.  Further- 
more, the  "obedience,  worship,  and  love 
of  the  heart  demanded  by  Deuteronomy 
on  the  ground  of  common  union  with 
Jehovah  were  bound  at  length  to  mani- 
fest themselves  as  a  personal  experience 
and  privilege  known  besides  to  God 
himself  alone."  ^  It  is  not  without  sig- 
nificance   in    this    connection    that    the 


^  McCurdy,  History,  Prophecy,  and  the  Monumenia^  (1911). 
§  1025. 


182    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

great  prophetic  exponent  of  the  principle 
of  individuaHsm  was  not  only  a  prophet, 
but  was  by  birth  and  training  a  priest 
(Ezek.  1:3;   4  :  12-15). 

Prophecy,  too,  though  its  scope  and 
purpose  were  fundamentally  national, 
held  within  itself  the  germ  of  individual- 
ism.^ The  idea  of  the  remnant  itself, 
whether  it  originated  with  Elijah  or 
Isaiah,^  was  a  starting-point  for  individ- 
ualism. The  idea  carries  with  it  a  dis- 
tinction between  Israel  according  to 
flesh  and  Israel  according  to  spirit,  even 
if  Israel  according  to  spirit  consist  only  of 
those  who  are  also  in  Israel  according  to 
flesh;  the  remnant  of  the  Elijah  stories, 
for  example,  consisted  of  the  seven  thou- 
sand who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to 
Baal;  Isaiah's  remnant  included  his  dis- 
ciples and  those  faithful  to  the  great 
prophetic    ideals.     Membership    in    the 

*  Sir  end,  Lehrhuch  der  alttestamentlichen  Religionsgeschichte^ 
(1899),  pp.  199/.,  308. 

2  See  Meinhold,  Stiidien  zur  israelitischen  Religionsgeschichte, 
vol.  I,  "Der  heilige  Rest"  (1903). 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      183 

remnant,  and  through  this  a  place  in 
the  future  glorified  Israel,  was  made  de- 
pendent, therefore,  not  solely  upon  the 
fact  of  being  an  Israelite,  but  also  upon 
faithfulness  to  the  ideals  of  true  Yahweh 
worship.  Thus,  in  addition  to  the  acci- 
dent of  birth  as  a  Hebrew,  there  was  set 
up  a  standard  of  character,  and  such  a 
standard  is  in  the  nature  of  the  case  in- 
dividualistic. 

The  continual  insistence  by  the  proph- 
ets upon  ethical  ideals  was  another  , 
step  in  the  direction  of  individualism. 
Though  the  ethics  of  the  prophets  was 
social  in  intent  and  purpose,  the  basis 
of  it,  as  of  all  ethics,  was  individualistic; 
and  the  prophets'  application  of  these 
ethical  principles  to  the  conditions  of 
their  times  was  emphatically  individual- 
istic. Corporations,  syndicates,  trusts, 
trades-unions,  and  the  other  multiform 
organisations  of  the  present  day  were 
unknown  to  them;  the  sins  they  de- 
nounced   were   sins    of   individuals   and 


184    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

were  to  be  opposed  only  by  individual- 
istic preaching  of  the  most  personal 
type.^  Samuel  denouncing  Saul,  Nathan 
laying  bare  the  crime  of  David  to  the 
eye  of  his  own  conscience,  Elijah  fiercely 
opposing  the  despotic  oppression  of  Ahab 
and  Jezebel,  Amos  proclaiming  unwel- 
come truths  before  the  chief  priest  at 
Bethel,  Isaiah  confronting  and  confound- 
ing kings  and  princes — these  are  exam- 
ples of  the  kind  of  service  rendered  by 
the  true  prophets.  Among  the  leaders 
of  Israel,  immunity  from  such  attacks 
as  these  was  assured  only  to  the  posses- 
sors of  sound  moral  character.  Of  the 
same  personal  nature  was  the  use  made 
by  the  prophets — e,  g.,  in  the  J  and  E 
documents — of  the  stories  concerning  the 
great  individuals  of  Israel's  past;  the 
praiseworthy  characteristics  of  Abraham, 
Moses,  and  David  were  described  and 
emphasised  for  the  admiration  and  in- 
spiration of  succeeding  generations. 

*  Cf.  Smend,  op.  cit.,  p.  308. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL       185 

It  was  the  task  of  exilic  prophecy  to 
gather  up  these  scattered  threads  of  in- 
fluence and  weave  them  into  the  great 
doctrine  of  individuahsm.  The  times 
were  ripe  for  the  formulation  and  utter- 
ance of  this  doctrine.  Political  ambi- 
tions had  been  dashed  to  the  ground. 
The  death  of  Josiah  and  the  calamity  of 
597  B.  C.  must  have  destroyed,  for  the 
time  being,  the  last  vestige  of  hope  for 
Israel's  political  future.  The  attention 
of  thoughtful  men  could  no  longer  linger 
upon  the  nation  as  a  political  unit,  but 
was  turned  to  the  consideration  of  its 
religious  mission.  Religion  became  the 
great  issue  of  life;  all  other  questions 
were  merely  of  secondary  importance; 
the  best  thought  concerned  itself  with 
the  problems  of  religion.  These  prob- 
lems necessitated  the  formation  of  new 
conceptions  of  God.  The  course  of  re- 
cent historical  events  had  to  be  consid- 
ered from  the  point  of  view  of  Yahweh's 
relation  to  them.     Even  if  Yahweh  were 


186    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

only  a  national  deity  like  other  national 
gods,  such  as  Chemosh,  Milcom,  and 
Marduk,  the  fact  of  Israel's  successive 
disasters  permitted  two  methods  of  ex- 
planation: either  Yahweh  was  inferior 
in  power  to  the  god  whose  people  had 
overthrown  Israel,  or  Yahweh  was  angry 
with  his  people  for  some  offence  against 
his  majesty,  and  had  therefore  with- 
drawn his  favour  from  them  and  left 
them  to  the  mercy  of  the  enemy.^  Some 
were  doubtless  ready  to  accept  the  for- 
mer alternative  and  transfer  their  alle- 
giance from  Yahweh  to  the  god  of  the 
conquerors.  But  the  prophets,  with 
unswerving  loyalty  to  Yahweh,  unhesi- 

^  CJ.  the  explanation  given  by  the  Babylonian  priests  of  the 
capture  of  Babylon  by  the  Persians,  viz.,  that  Marduk  was 
angry  at  his  people  and  therefore  delivered  them  into  the 
hands  of  their  enemies;  see  the  prologue  of  the  Cyrus  Cylinder 
(translated  in  R.  F.  Harper's  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Litera- 
ture [1901],  pp.  171  jf.).  wherein  Marduk  is  represented  as 
having  become  "furious  with  anger"  and  as  forsaking  his 
land,  which  he  turns  over  to  Cyrus.  The  characteristic  dif- 
ference between  the  Babylonian  and  the  Hebrew  explanations 
of  their  very  similar  experiences  is  that  the  anger  of  Marduk 
is  occasioned  by  ritualistic  offences;  e.  g.,  "he  (Nabonidus) 
allowed  the  regular  offering  to  cease";  while  Yahweh's  wrath 
is  aroused  by  gross  violations  of  moral  and  spiritual  law. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      187 

tatingly  chose  the  latter  alternative  and 
declared  Israel  to  be  at  fault  in  having 
disregarded  Yahweh's  demand  for  right- 
eousness and  truth;  and,  not  content 
with  this,  they  enlarged  the  sphere  of 
Yahweh's  activity  to  world-wide  propor- 
tions and  pointed  out  that  the  Assyrian 
and  Babylonian  armies  were  but  tools  in 
Yahweh's  hands  for  the  execution  of  his 
wrath  upon  Israel.  Thus  in  the  hour  of 
his  apparent  overthrow,  Yahweh  became 
King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  Israel 
was  now  only  one  among  the  nations,  all 
of  whom  were  subject  to  the  dominion 
of  Yahweh;  but  she  was  still  his  ancient 
people  and,  therefore,  the  most  highly 
favoured  of  all.  It  was  coming  to  be 
seen,  however,  that  the  basis  of  this 
closer  fellowship  was  to  be  found  not 
in  any  clan  or  family  relationship  but 
rather  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  supe- 
riority of  Israel  as  compared  with  all 
other  peoples.  The  national  communion 
with  Yahweh  being  thus  conditioned  by 


188    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

a  character  qualification,  the  individual- 
ising of  the  relationship  between  him 
and  his  people  was  bound  to  follow  in 
due  course. 

The  gradual  breaking  down  of  the  old 
conception  of  the  solidarity  of  the  na- 
tion was  hastened  under  the  stress  of 
the  intense  sufferings  of  the  exilic  period. 
The  common  opinion  seems  to  have  been 
that  the  present  generation  was  paying 
the  penalty  of  the  sins  committed  in 
Manasseh's  reign  (Jer.  15  :  4;  II  Kings 
21  :  2,  11,  16/.;  23:  26;  24  :  3/.).  The 
popular  estimate  of  the  fairness  of  this 
principle  of  the  divine  administration  of 
justice  found  expression  in  the  ironical, 
half -sceptical  proverb  "The  fathers  have 
eaten  sour  grapes  and  the  children's 
teeth  are  set  on  edge"  (Ezek.  18  :  2;  cf. 
Jer.  31  :  29).  The  spirit  of  the  times 
was  evidently  opposed  to  the  practice 
of  such  doctrine.  The  dissolution  of 
the  doctrine  was  aided  by  the  condi- 
tions resulting  from  the  deportation  of 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      189 

597  B.  C;  family  ties  were  ruthlessly 
sundered  and  the  lines  of  clan  demar- 
cation ignored;  individuals  were  uprooted 
from  their  native  soil  and  transplanted 
in  a  foreign  land.  Many  of  those  re- 
maining behind  were  robbed  of  practi- 
cally all  their  kinsmen  and  former  asso- 
ciates, and  were  under  the  sad  necessity 
of  beginning  life  anew  almost  alone. 
Each  had  to  stand  or  fall  upon  his  own 
merits  in  the  new  business  and  social 
conditions. 

Amid  such  conditions  as  these  Jere- 
miah did  his  work.  He  realised  that  the 
prevalent  tendency  to  cast  the  responsi- 
bility for  present  difficulties  upon  the 
shoulders  of  a  former  generation  robbed 
the  divine  chastisements  of  all  educative 
moral  and  spiritual  effect  for  the  great 
mass  of  his  contemporaries.  Hence  he 
never  wearied  of  pointing  out  the  sinful- 
ness of  his  contemporaries  (2  :  19  ff,; 
3:1/.;  5:1  /.;  Q  :  6  ff.;  8  :  6;  13  : 
22/.;   17  :  1/.;  etc.),  endeavouring  thus 


190    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

to  bring  home  to  their  consciences  the 
conviction  that  they  themselves  had  by 
their  own  deeds  merited  all  the  pun- 
ishment they  were  receiving,  and  were 
altogether  in  error  in  supposing  them- 
selves any  better  than  their  predecessors. 
Following  in  the  same  strain,  later  com- 
mentators on  Jeremiah  charged  the  peo- 
ple of  Judah  with  being  even  worse  than 
their  fathers  (Jer.  7:  26;  11  :  10),  and 
Ezekiel  (16  :  51)  declared  them  to  be 
twice  as  wicked  as  the  people  of  Samaria 
had  been  before  the  fall  of  the  northern 
kingdom.  Jeremiah  exposed  sin  in  the 
hope  of  showing  its  exceeding  sinfulness 
in  such  a  way  as  to  cause  Israel  to  loathe 
it  and  repent,  and  on  condition  of  true 
repentance  he  assured  them  of  Yahweh's 
forgiveness  (3  :  12/.;  4  :  1,3/.;  8  :  4/.; 
etc.).  This  offer  of  forgiveness  on  con- 
dition of  repentance  was  in  itself  an  as- 
surance that  Israel's  fate  was  in  its  own 
hands;  it  was  in  direct  contradiction  to 
the  popular  thought  that  the  nation  was 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL       191 

doomed  because  of  the  sins  of  a  previous 
generation — a  thought  the  prevalence  of 
which  meant  the  death  of  all  moral  prog- 
ress. According  to  Jeremiah,  each  gen- 
eration determined  its  own  fate  by  its 
attitude  toward  Yahweh  and  his  demands 
for  ethical  righteousness  and  spiritual 
worship,  without  any  let  or  hindrance 
due  to  the  rebellious  deeds  of  previous 
generations.  This  position  seems  to  be 
the  furthest  point  reached  by  Jeremiah 
in  the  direction  of  individual  responsi- 
bility; for  the  great  passage,  31  :  29/., 
even  if  it  could  be  shown  to  be  original,^ 


^  The  grounds  for  assigning  this  passage  to  a  later  period  are 
well  set  forth  by  Smend,  op.  cii.,  pp.  249  jf.;  so  also  Stade, 
Duhm,  Schmidt  {Encyclo'paedia  Biblica,  col.  2384),  Cornill, 
{Die  metrischen  Stiicke  des  Buches  Jeremia  reconstruirt  [1901], 
and  in  Das  Buck  Jeremia  erklart  [1905],  pp.  346-8),  et  al.  For 
the  contrary  view  see  Giesebrecht,  in  loc.  The  only  passages 
in  Jeremiah  that  can  by  any  means  be  cited  in  support  of  the 
thesis  that  Jeremiah  preached  individualism  are  31  :  29  jf.; 
3  :  14-16;  15  :  1/.;  12:  1/.;  17  :  9/.;  and  32  :  18/.  These  are 
all  assigned,  wholly  or  in  part,  to  a  later  age  by  Duhm,  Cornill, 
Schmidt,  et  al.  In  addition  to  the  specific  ground  urged 
against  each  of  these  passages  by  these  interpreters,  a  general 
objection  presents  itself  to  all.  These  scattered  hints  of  in- 
dividualism have  no  vital  connection  with  the  prophecies  of 
Jeremiah  at  any  point;  they  form  no  part  of  the  burden  of 
his  soul.     It  is  scarcely  conceivable  that  a  prophet  of  Jere- 


192    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

evidently  recognises  the  necessity  of  the 
operation  of  the  old  principle  of  solidar- 
ity in  the  existing  regime,  and  postpones 
the  introduction  of  the  new  doctrine  of 
individualism  until  the  incoming  of  the 
Messianic  age. 

Individualism  was  for  the  first  time 
clearly  defined  and  enunciated  by  Eze- 
kiel,  the  younger  contemporary  of  Jere- 
miah. His  environment  was  especially 
favourable  to  the  development  of  this 
doctrine.  Torn  away  from  home  and 
his  native  land  in  his  youth,  he  was 
plunged  at  once  into  the  midst  of  Baby- 


miah's  insight  and  capacity,  confronted  by  great  problems 
in  ethics  and  religion,  and  having  possession  of  a  profound 
truth  adapted  to  their  solution,  should  have  contented  him- 
self with  a  few  incidental,  lifeless  allusions  to  it,  displaying  no 
enthusiasm  concerning  it  and  making  no  practical  use  of  it. 
Moreover,  Jeremiah  was  still  dealing  with  the  nation.  His 
activities  were  practically  ended  before  the  nation  had  ceased 
to  be.  Hence  the  whole  motive  and  background  of  his  work 
were  necessarily  national.  His  contemporaries  clung  to  the 
national  idea  as  long  as  there  was  a  vestige  of  hope.  Indeed, 
the  ambition  for  existence  and  power  as  a  nation  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth  did  not  fail  until  the  final  fall  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  to  all  quarters  of  the  earth  in 
70  A.  D.  The  national  spirit  blazed  forth  fiercely  again  in 
the  days  of  the  Maccabees  and  occasioned  numerous  revolts 
against  the  Romans  up  to  the  end. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      193 

Ionian  power  and  influence.  The  con- 
trast between  the  might  and  splendour 
of  the  conqueror  and  the  weakness  and 
poverty  of  his  own  people  must  have 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  him.  He 
abandoned  all  hope  of  successful  resis- 
tance and  strove  to  prepare  his  people 
for  the  inevitable  catastrophe,  seeking 
to  turn  their  'thoughts  away  from  polit- 
ical hopes  and  intrigues,  and  to  concen- 
trate them  upon  the  affairs  of  the  moral 
and  spiritual  realm  in  which  they  might 
still  maintain  supremacy.  The  commu- 
nity of  his  fellow  exiles  was  constituted 
upon  an  individualistic  basis;  the  con- 
querors had  selected  for  deportation  the 
leaders  of  the  nation's  thought  and  ac- 
tion (II  Kings  24  :  14-16)  with  slight 
reference  to  clan  and  family  ties  (Ezek. 
24  :  21).  These  were  naturally  the  most 
enlightened  and  intelligent  citizens,  and 
therefore  most  likely  to  be  hospitable 
toward  a  new  truth. 

Furthermore,  the  probable  lack  of  any 


194    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

facilities  for  public  worship  on  the  part 
of  the  Jews  in  Babylonia/  who  could  not 
visit  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  the  only 
place  where  men  ought  to  worship,  of 
itself  prepared  the  soil  of  their  hearts 
for  the  seed  of  individualism.  Shorn  of 
opportunity  for  worship  as  a  member 
of  the  community  to  which  he  belonged, 
the  devout  Jew  would  inevitably  be 
thrown  back  upon  the  necessity  of  lift- 
ing his  own  thoughts  and  desires  to  Yah- 
weh's  throne  in  the  privacy  of  his  own 
soUtude.  The  passing  of  the  Deutero- 
nomic  law  of  the  central  sanctuary  about 
620  B.  C.  would  tend  in  this  direction 
even  while  the  Jews  were  still  in  the 
homeland,  but  its  full  effect  was  not  felt 
until  the  exile,  because,  on  the  one  hand, 
there  was  always  the  possibihty  of  visit- 

^  The  recent  discovery  that  the  Jews  in  Egypt  built  a  temple 
of  their  own  at  Assuan  does  not  necessarily  involve  the  exis- 
tence of  corresponding  Yahweh  shrines  in  Babylonia.  The 
Assuan  colony  was  of  much  older  origin  than  the  Babylonian 
and  may  represent  a  period  when  the  Deuteronomic  law  had 
not  yet  secured  full  recognition.  Yet  the  discovery  of  this 
Egyptian  temple  makes  it  more  probable  that  the  Babylonian 
Jews  also  had  one  or  more  sanctuaries. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL       195 

ing  the  temple,  which  was  easily  acces- 
sible to  all  the  inhabitants  of  Judah, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  not  be 
supposed  that  the  associations  and  cus- 
toms of  the  local  sanctuaries  were  at 
once  and  completely  abandoned  when 
Deuteronomy  became  the  authorised 
law. 

In  addition  to  these  conditions  there 
was  a  very  positive  influence  toward 
individualism  from  the  side  of  the  Baby- 
lonian civilisation,  which  was  centuries 
in  advance  of  the  Hebrew.  As  far  back 
as  the  days  of  Hammurabi,  and  how 
much  further  no  one  can  tell,  the  Baby- 
lonians had  been  a  commercial  people. 
Even  in  early  times  their  business  activi- 
ties were  highly  complex,  ramifying  in  all 
directions,  and  their  business  methods 
were  precise  and  accurate,  giving  scope 
for  executive  ability  of  the  highest  order. 
The  Code  of  Hammurabi  takes  cognisance 
of  banking  transactions,  trustees,  agents, 
or    commercial    travellers,    renting    and 


196    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

subrenting,  receipts,  etc.;  requires  a 
written  contract  with  regularly  attested 
signatures  and  witnesses  for  every  busi- 
ness transaction;  and  gives  evidence  of 
the  existence  of  a  thorough  and  well- 
developed  system  of  legal  procedure. 
The  social  organisation  reflected  by  the 
code  is  unintelligible  apart  from  the  rec- 
ognition of  the  well-defined  rights  and 
responsibilities  of  the  individual  citizen. 
There  are,  indeed,  regulations  in  the  code 
which  seem  to  imply  the  older  feeling 
of  the  solidarity  of  the  family,  as,  for 
example,  the  provision  in  §§116  and  210, 
for  putting  to  death  the  child  of  a  man 
who  has  caused  the  death  of  another 
man's  child.  But  these  are  instances  to 
be  explained  as  due  to  the  influence  of 
the  lex  talionis — an  old  principle  which 
carried  along  with  it  other  ancient  usages. 
A  civilisation  as  advanced  and  complex 
as  that  of  Babylonia  in  the  twenty-second 
century  B.  C.  was  certainly  not  less  but 
more  so  in  the  sixth  century  B.  C,  when 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      197 

Israel  began  its  Babylonian  sojourn  and 
Ezekiel  was  formulating  his  doctrine  of 
the  responsibility  of  the  individual.  This 
a  priori  assumption  is  shown  to  be  cor- 
rect by  the  indubitable  evidence  of  the 
hundreds  of  contract  tablets  coming 
from  every  period  of  Assyro-Babylonian 
history,  many  of  them  from  the  reigns 
of  Nebuchadrezzar  and  his  successors 
and  recording  business  transactions  of 
the  most  varied  and  complex  character. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  in  the 
commercial  life  of  Babylonia  in  Ezekiel's 
time  each  individual  stood  absolutely 
upon  his  own  merits.  But  even  in  mod- 
ern times  it  is  impossible  to  keep  busi- 
ness and  religion  separate  in  the  life  and 
thought  of  any  individual.  Human  na- 
ture does  not  readily  resolve  itself  into 
a  series  of  water-tight  compartments. 
The  various  activities  of  life  inevitably 
intermingle  and  react  one  upon  another. 
This  truth  as  applied  to  business  and 
religion  was  even  more  true  in  the  an- 


198    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

cient  world  than  now;  then  religion 
embraced  every  phase  of  human  life, 
the  separation  of  the  sacred  from  the 
secular  scarcely  having  been  imagined. 
Hence  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  com- 
mercial system  organised  on  a  strictly  in- 
dividualistic basis  coexisting  indefinitely 
side  by  side  with  a  religious  system  dom- 
inated by  the  ancient  conception  of 
the  solidarity  of  the  family  or  clan. 
Individualism  could  hardly  invade  the 
commercial  and  industrial  system  with- 
out obtaining  foothold  likewise  in  the 
territory  of  religion.  Bousset^  has  al- 
ready called  attention  to  the  "astrologic 
fatalism"  of  the  Babylonians  as  a  specif- 
ically "individualistic  form  of  religion." 
Their  penitential  psalms  also  reflect  a 
very  keen  sense  of  personal  guilt  and 
personal  responsibility  for  the  same. 
Definite  expression  to  the  doctrine  of  in- 
dividual  responsibility   for   sin   is   given 

*  In  Die  Religion  des  JuderUhums  im  neutestamentlichen  ZeiU 
alter  (1903),  p.  278. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      199 

in  the  narrative  of  the  deluge,^  where 
the  god  Ea  addresses  the  god  Bel  as 
follows: 

Ah,  thou  wise  one  among  the  gods,  thou  war- 
rior. 

How  rash  of  thee  to  bring  about  a  flood  storm! 

On  the  sinner  visit  his  sin, 

And  on  the  wicked  his  wickedness. 

But  be  merciful,  forbear;  let  not  all  be  de- 
^-         stroyed!  ] 

Be  considerate;  let  not  everything  be  [con- 
founded] ! 

This  is  the  beginning  of  a  distinct  pro- 
test against  the  injustice  of  destroying 
the  righteous  with  the  wicked,  in  the 

^Gilgamesh  Epic,  tablet  XI,  11.  180/.  The  rendering 
given  above  is  that  of  Doctor  Wm.  Muss-Arnolt,  as  found  in 
R.  F.  Harper's  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Literature  (1901),  p. 
357.  Samuel  Daiches,  Jewish  Quarterly  Review,  April,  1905, 
pp.  441-455,  maintains  that  Ezekiel,  especially  in  14  :  12-20, 
borrowed  both  language  and  ideas  from  the  Babylonian  flood 
story;  but  the  mere  fact  of  similarity  of  expression  is  not  of 
itself  sufficient  to  demonstrate  literary  dependence.  Daiches 
recognises  the  fact  that  similar  phraseology  occurs  in  Ezek. 
14  :  12-20;  Deut.  28  :  15-68;  Lev.  26.  It  is  too  much  to 
suppose  that  all  of  these  are  directly  or  indirectly  depen- 
dent upon  the  Babylonian  narrative,  and  it  is  not  necessary 
to  posit  such  an  origin  for  any  one  of  them.  The  phenomena 
upon  which  the  hypothesis  is  based  are  simple,  such  as  might 
be  expected  to  appear  among  any  peoples  dwellmg  amid 
similar  environments. 


200    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

form  of  a  plea  that  some  punishment 
other  than  a  deluge,  one  which  would  ren- 
der possible  the  escape  of  the  righteous, 
be  employed.  With  the  inheritance  of 
the  religious  experience  of  Israel  during 
the  preceding  centuries,  and  amid  such 
a  social  and  intellectual  environment  as 
Babylonia  furnished,  it  was  perfectly 
natural  that  Israel  in  exile  should  re- 
spond to  the  stimulus  of  providential 
circumstances  in  part  by  the  clear  for- 
mulation of  the  doctrine  of  personal  re- 
sponsibility for  sin. 

Ezekiel's  individualism  appears  first  in 
his  statement  of  his  divine  call  (3  :  16- 
21)}    Previous  prophets  had  felt  them- 

^  Kraetzschmar  considers  this  passage  a  later  addition  de- 
rived from  chapter  33  and  inappHcable  to  the  first  period  of 
Ezekiel's  activity.  Prior  to  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  Ezekiel 
certainly  did  give  greatest  attention  to  the  national  phases 
of  his  work,  exposing  sins  and  emphasising  the  certainty  and 
necessity  of  the  fall  of  the  capital,  but  his  individualism  was 
not  held  wholly  in  abeyance.  The  new  point  of  view  appears 
cleariy,  indeed,  in  9  :  4/.;  11  :  18-21;  14  :  12/.;  and  chap- 
ter 18.  In  reply  to  the  charge  that  3  :  16-21  forms  no  essen- 
tial part  of  the  call,  but  is  an  appendix,  it  is  to  be  said  that 
in  representing  this  phase  of  his  mission  as  the  subject  of  a 
second  revelation  Ezekiel  meant  to  indicate  that  the  necessity 
of  preaching  to  the  individual  was  not  at  first  realised  by  him 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      201 

selves  called  as  Yahweh's  messengers  to 
the  nation  and  guides  of  the  national 
life.  Ezekiel  defines  his  mission  as  that 
of  caring  for  the  souls  of  individuals. 
He  is  the  watchman  appointed  of  Yah- 
weh  unto  the  house  of  Israel  to  warn 
each  man  of  his  danger  and  indicate  the 
way  of  escape.  His  own  feeling  of  per- 
sonal responsibility  to  Yahweh  for  the 
souls  of  those  intrusted  to  his  care  is 
very  marked  and  evidences  his  keen 
conscientiousness.  He  puts  himself  on 
the  same  plane  with  his  hearers  and 
asks  them  to  bear  no  heavier  burdens 

but  forced  itself  upon  him  only  after  deep  meditation  upon 
the  needs  of  the  times.  This  view  is  in  keeping  with  the 
fact  of  Ezekiel's  concrete  and  artificial  methods  of  presenting 
truth.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  Ezekiel's  descrip- 
tion of  his  call  was  given  at  the  opening  of  his  ministry;  it 
was  more  probably  written  after  some  experience  in  prophetic 
activity  and  sums  up  his  reflections  upon  the  nature  of  his 
work  and  the  attitude  of  the  people  toward  his  teachings 
(cf.  the  visions  of  Isaiah  and  Amos).  This  is  rendered  more 
than  probable  by  the  fact  that  in  21  :  3/.  Ezekiel  announces 
a  destruction  upon  Jerusalem  which  shall  cut  off  both  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked  without  discrimination.  This  latter 
prophecy  seems  to  be  a  spontaneous  utterance  spoken  under 
the  pressure  of  the  immediate  circumstances,  while  3  :  16-21 
and  chapter  18,  with  which  it  is  in  conflict,  are  e\adently  the 
product  of  careful  thought  and  reflection  (see  Bertholet  and 
Kraetzschmar  on  21  :  3/.). 


202  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

than  he  is  conscious  of  bearing  himself. 
He  was  confronted  by  the  same  problem 
as  that  which  presented  itself  to  Jer- 
emiah— viz.,  the  necessity  of  demon- 
strating Yahweh's  justice  to  a  sceptical 
generation — but  he  offered  a  new  solu- 
tion. He  laid  down  the  basal  principle 
that  every  soul  sustains  its  own  inde- 
pendent relation  to  Yahweh  (18  :  4). 
On  the  basis  of  this  personal  relation 
its  fate  will  be  determined.  In  the  ap- 
proaching crisis  every  soul  that  is  sinful 
will  be  doomed,  while  every  one  that  is 
just  will  escape  alive.  The  righteousness 
of  a  father  will  be  of  no  avail  to  shield  a 
sinful  son,  nor  will  the  sins  of  a  wicked 
father  be  visited  upon  the  head  of  a  right- 
eous son  (18  :  5-20).  One  man's  crimes 
do  not  bring  judgment  upon  another, 
nor,  conversely,  does  the  righteousness  of 
one  man  secure  immunity  for  the  sins 
of    other    men    (14  :  12-23).^     A   man's 


^Cf.  Jer.  15  :  1^.  (a  later  addition).     Contrast  with  this 
the  earlier  view  as  represented  in  Gen.  18. 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      203 

ancestors,  therefore,  have  in  no  way  in- 
terfered with  his  relations  to  Yahweh 
so  as  to  impair  his  right  to  an  absolutely 
just  judgment  based  solely  upon  his  own 
merits.  But,  more  than  this,  a  man's 
own  past  life  even  does  not  count  in  the 
coming  judgment;  the  only  thing  taken 
into  consideration  is  his  actual  status  at 
the  time  the  judgment  is  passed  (18  :  21- 
28;  33  :  10-20).  This  warrants  a  most 
earnest  appeal  to  the  sinner  to  repent 
and  to  the  righteous  man  to  maintain 
his  integrity,  especially  since  Yahweh 
derives  no  pleasure  from  the  death  of 
sinners  (33  :  11/.). 

In  these  utterances  Ezekiel  apparently 
breaks  loose  entirely  from  the  old  con- 
ception of  the  solidarity  of  the  family 
and,  carried  away  by  the  enthusiasm  of 
a  new  idea,  passes  over  to  the  opposite 
extreme  of  an  individualism  of  the  most 
atomistic  type — atomistic  not  only  from 
the  point  of  view  of  social  ethics  and  life 
but  even  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 


204    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

individual  life  itself.  The  fact  of  the 
essential  unity  and  continuity  of  each 
life  is  ignored;  life  is  considered  from 
the  point  of  view  of  actions,  not  char- 
acter. The  ties  of  heredity  and  envi- 
ronment which  link  a  man  to  his  fellow 

"  men,  and  often  involve  the  innocent  with 
the  guilty  in  temporal  disaster,  are  not 
given  due  consideration. 

It  may  be  noted  further  that  Ezekiel's 

V  application  of  the  doctrine  of  individual- 
ism was  confined  to  the  question  of  man's 
status  before  the  bar  of  divine  judgment. 
For  the  thought  of  personal  communion 
and  fellowship  of  the  individual  with  his 
God  he  finds  no  place.  Nor  did  he  ever 
arrive  at  the  thought  of  the  individual 
as  Yahweh's  representative  to  the  world. 
Notwithstanding  his  great  emphasis  upon 
the  idea  of  individuahsm,  he  never  loos- 
ened his  hold  upon  the  thought  of  Yah- 
weh  as  fundamentally  in  union  with 
Israel's  land;  it  runs  through  all  his 
utterances  (chapter  16;  20  :  40;  25  :  14; 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      205 

28  :  24-26;  35  :  10;  36  :  16-38;  chap- 
ters 38  and  39;  43  :  7).^  Israel  is  still 
the  most  favoured  nation;  Yahweh's 
activities  are  always  exercised  with  ref- 
erence to  it.  His  true  worshippers  are 
always  Israelites.  There  is  a  spiritual 
Israel,  indeed,  but  it  is  at  the  same  time 
made  up  of  those  who  belong  to  Israel 
according  to  the  flesh,  the  Hebrews  of 
the  Hebrews. 

Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  Israel  of  the 
future  (chapters  40-48)  grows  out  of  his 
feeling  of  the  solidarity  of  Israel  and 
Yahweh.  The  new  Israel  will  be  a  com- 
munity of  true  Israelites  dwelling  with 
Yahweh  in  the  Holy  City.  Yahweh  will 
be  the  real  head  of  the  community,  the 
centre  of  all  its  interests;  the  commu- 
nity will  be  Yahweh's  representative  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world  at  large.  Israel 
as  a  religious  unit  will  take  the  place  of 
Israel  as  a  political  unit.  Thus  Ezekiel 
finds  the  highest  expression  of  religion 

*  C/.  Bertholet,  Das  Buck  Hesekiel,  p.  xviii. 


206    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

not  in  the  isolated  life  of  the  individual 
but  in  the  group  life  of  the  community. 
His  community  is,  of  course,  composed 
of  individual  members  all  of  whom  sus- 
tain right  relations  to  God;  they  live, 
however,  not  for  individual  ends  but 
for  the  furtherance  of  the  purpose  of  the 
community,  which  is  the  revelation  of 
God's  glory  to  the  world. 

The  principle  of  individualism  was  in- 
corporated also  in  the  Deuteronomic  law 
(Deut.  24  :  16)  and  so  became  the  es- 
tablished principle  in  the  administration 
of  Hebrew  justice.  This  is  an  advance 
upon  Deut.  7  :  10  in  which  nothing  is 
implied  as  to  whether  the  descendants 
may  or  may  not  suflFer  for  their  ances- 
tors' sins,  it  being  made  clear  only  that 
the  sinner  himself  shall  not  escape  pun- 
ishment. It  is  also  practically  a  setting 
aside  of  the  principle  laid  down  in  the 
Decalogue  (Deut.  5  :  9;  Ex.  20  :  5)}    This 


^  Driver's  attempt  to  escape  the  contradiction  by  explain- 
ing Deut.  5  :  9  as  applicable  to  "the  providence  of  God  acting 


PROPHET  AND  INDIVIDUAL      207 

Deuteronomic  law  was,  therefore,  the 
outcome  of,  or  the  result  of  a  develop- 
ment parallel  with,  the  pioneer  activity 
of  Ezekiel  ^  rather  than  the  basis  upon 
which  his  work  rested. 

This  study  of  the  rise  of  individualism 
among  the  Hebrews,  and  particularly  of 
the  prophet's  share  in  that  movement  of 
thought,  shows  the  ability  of  the  prophet 
to  adjust  himself  to  changing  scenes  and 
problems.  A  transfer  of  emphasis  from 
the  nation  or  the  family  as  the  relig- 
ious unit  to  the  individual  was  essential 
to  the  salvation  of  religion  for  thinking 
men  in  the  days  of  the  exile.  The 
prophet  met  this  crisis  fearlessly  and  ef- 
ficiently, as  he  had  met  previous  crises, 
and  in  so  doing  marked  a  new  stage  in 
the  progress  of  his  religion.      This  was 

naturally  through  the  normal  constitution  of  society,"  and 
24  :  16  as  applying  only  to  the  administration  of  justice  by 
the  state,  seems  to  overlook  the  fact  that  in  the  Hebrew  state 
the  administrators  of  human  law  were  the  earthly  represen- 
tatives of  Yahweh,  and  that  fundamentally  all  law  was  divine 
law;  separation  of  church  from  state  was  not  yet  eflFected. 

^  So  Bertholet,  Deuieronomium,  p.  76,  and  Carpenter  and 
Harford-Battersby,  The  Hexateuch  (1900),  vol.  II,  p.  284. 


£08    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  kind  of  test  that  brought  out  the 
vitality  of  the  prophetic  rehgion,  with 
which  our  concluding  chapter  deals. 


VIII 
THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  set  forth  in 
a  single  chapter  either  the  content  or 
the  history  of  the  reUgion  of  the  proph- 
ets; either  would  require  a  substantial 
volume.  We  must  confine  ourselves  to 
sketching  a  few  of  the  leading  charac- 
teristics of  that  religion,  famiharity  with 
which  would  insure  the  recognition  of 
prophetic  religion  wherever  and  when- 
ever it  might  appear.  The  chapter  will 
thus  constitute  a  kind  of  miniature  in- 
troduction to  the  prophet's  rehgion. 

A  mere  speaking  acquaintance  with 
the  prophets  brings  out  the  fact  of 
their  vivid  consciousness  of  God.  They 
thought  of  themselves  as  Uving  in  God's 
world.  They  believed  themselves  to  be 
always    under   his    eye.     He    was    their 

209 


210    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

ever-present  God  and  never  a  God  afar 
off.  Yet  that  presence  and  nearness 
they  would  never  have  described  as  the 
modern  poet  has  done: 

Closer  is  he  than  breathing. 
Nearer  than  hands  or  feet.  * 

Their  God  was  too  distinctly  and  con- 
cretely personal  to  have  been  thus  ab- 
stractly represented.  He  was  a  tangi- 
ble, objective  personality  standing  out  in 
sharp  relief  against  the  personalities  of  his 
worshippers.  He  stood  outside  of  them, 
and  communication  between  him  and 
them  was  correspondingly  represented 
in  a  markedly  anthropomorphic  manner. 
That  which  distinguished  the  prophet 
from  other  men  was  his  ability  to  recog- 
nise the  hand  and  voice  of  God  in  the 
life  of  the  day.  He  was  in  the  highest 
degree  sensitive  to  the  presence  of  God. 
He  responded  to  the  call  of  God  like 
steel  to  the  magnet.  He  could  distin- 
guish the  divine  voice  amid  the  babel  of 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       211 

human  sounds  as  quickly  as  the  mother 
recognises  her  child.     He  lived  in  con- 
stant expectation  of  that  voice;    his  ear 
was  always  open  for  the  divine  word  and 
his  eye  was  never  closed  to  God's  work. 
He  spoke   not  in  his   own  strength  but 
in  the  strength  of  God.     His  only  mis- 
sion in  life  was  to  be  the  spokesman  of 
God.     According  to  his  own  conception 
of  his  function,  he  was  faithful  and  true 
to  his  call  in  proportion  as  he  spake  the 
whole  revelation  of  God  and  naught  be- 
sides.    The  Hebrew  prophet  was  thus  in 
a  very  literal  sense  "the  man  of  God," 
called  of  God,  inspired  of  God,  and  sus- 
tained of  God.     God  was  for  him  the 
most  real  element  in  his  environment.     A 
hfe  of  increasing  communion  with  the 
Lord  of  all  life  was  the  prophet's  daily 
experience. 

Another  characteristic  feature  of  the 
prophet's  religion  Hes  in  the  large  place  it 
gave  to  faith.  Prophecy  dealt  not  with 
certainties    but    with    hopes,    not    with 


212    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

the  fixed  past  but  with  the  changing 
present  and  the  still  more  uncertain  fu- 
ture. Yet  amid  changing  circumstance 
and  fluctuating  opinion  the  prophet  was 
upheld  by  a  sense  of  certainty.  While 
others  lost  heart  and  yielded  to  despair 
he  lived  in  confidence  "as  seeing  him 
who  is  invisible."  Few  things  in  history 
are  as  marvellous  as  the  firmness  of  the 
prophet's  grip  upon  the  unseen.  In  spite 
of  apparent  failure  and  in  the  face  of 
seemingly  insuperable  difficulty  and  inev- 
itable defeat,  the  faith  of  the  prophet  re- 
mained serene  and  immovable.  It  rose 
supreme  above  every  doubt  and  grew 
richer  in  content  with  each  successive 
trial. 

Illustration  of  this  fact  is  furnished  in 
the  career  of  practically  every  prophet, 
but  we  must  satisfy  ourselves  with  two 
or  three  specific  cases.  Isaiah  was  pre- 
eminently a  prophet  of  faith.  His  lot  was 
cast  in  troublous  times.  No  man  knew 
what   a   day   might   bring   forth.      The 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       213 

minds  of   men  were   distracted.      Some 
sought  help  in  one  direction,  some  in  an- 
other, but  through  it  all  Isaiah  preached 
and   practised   faith   in   Yahweh   alone. 
This  was  his  message  to  Ahaz  when  the 
armies   of   Israel   and   Syria   threatened 
Jerusalem  and  ''the  heart  of  Ahaz  trem- 
bled, and  the  heart  of  his  people,  as  the 
trees   of  the  forest  tremble  before  the 
wind"    (Isaiah   7:2).     Isaiah,  standing 
practically  alone,  was  able  to  say  with 
the  full  assurance  of  confidence:  "Take 
care  and  be  calm;    fear  not  neither  let 
thine   heart  be   faint.  ...  It  shall   not 
stand  neither  shall  it  come  to  pass.  .  .  . 
If  ye  will  not  believe,   surely  ye  shall 
not  be  established"  (7  :  4-9).     But  Ahaz 
craved  more  tangible  support  and  could 
not  be   dissuaded   from  sending    "mes- 
sengers to    Tiglath-pileser,  King  of  As- 
syria, saying,  I  am  thy  servant  and  thy 
son.     Come  up  and  dehver  me  from  the 
hand   of  the   King  of  Syria,  and  from 
the  hand   of   the  King  of  Israel,   who 


214    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

have   risen   up   against  me"   (II  Kings 

16  :  7). 

The  same  policy  of  absolute  trust  in 
Yahweh  and  of  withdrawal  from  all  en- 
tangling alliances  with  neighbouring  po- 
litical powers  was  adhered  to  by  Isaiah 
throughout  his  life.  When  Ashdod, 
Edom,  Moab,  and  Egypt  united  in  713- 
711  B.  C.  to  throw  oflf  the  yoke  of  Sar- 
gon  of  Assyria,  Isaiah  in  the  most  dra- 
matic fashion  (Isaiah  20)  sought  to  re- 
strain the  government  of  Judah  from 
joining  in  the  undertaking,  but  in  vain. 
From  720  to  711  B.  C.  Sargon  was  beset 
by  foes  on  every  hand;  Elam  on  the 
east,  Babylon  on  the  south,  Urartu  and 
the  neighbouring  peoples  from  the  upper 
Mediterranean  to  the  shores  of  Lake 
Urumia  on  the  north,  and  Syria-Palestine 
with  Egypt  and  Arabia  on  the  west  and 
south.  There  seemed  to  be  every  pros- 
pect of  success  in  the  attempt  to  over- 
throw the  world  oppressor,  and  Judah 
naturally  wished  to  co-operate.  But  Sar- 
gon triumphed  over  all  his  foes,  shaking 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       215 

them  off  one  after  another,  Hke  a  Hon 
beset  by  curs.  Isaiah's  poHcy  of  non- 
interference and  trust  in  Yahweh  was 
splendidly  vindicated.  The  sermons  in 
29  :  6-9;  30  :  1-17;  and  31  :  1-9  show 
that  he  did  not  waver  but  still  insis- 
tently proclaimed  the  same  message  in 
connection  with  the  plots  and  counter- 
plots culminating  in  Sennacherib's  inva- 
sion. 

By  returning  and  rest  shall  ye  be  saved; 
In    quietness    and    confidence    shall    be    your 
strength  (30  :  15). 

Here,  again,  the  progress  of  events  jus- 
tified Isaiah  as  over  against  his  opponents 
who  trusted  in  Egypt  to  deliver  them. 

The  prophet  Micah,  a  contemporary 
of  Isaiah,  constitutes  another  example  of 
prophetic  faith.  Contemplating  the  in- 
vasion of  Sennacherib,  he  proclaimed: 

Therefore,   on    account    of    you,    Zion    will    be 

plowed  as  a  field. 
And    Jerusalem    will    become    heaps,    and    the 

mountain  of  the  house  a  wooded  height. 


216    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

This  was  an  utterance  of  faith  to  the 
point  of  daring.  No  prophet  yet  had 
ventured  to  conceive  of  Yahweh  as  dis- 
sociated from  his  people  Israel.  The 
future  of  Yahwism  was  in  Israel's  hands. 
Amos,  Hosea,  and  Isaiah  could  contem- 
plate the  fall  of  Samaria  with  some  de- 
gree of  equanimity,  for  Judah  remained 
as  the  representative  of  Yahweh.  By 
701  B.  C.  Samaria  was  gone  and  Je- 
rusalem was  tottering.  Could  Yahweh 
survive  should  Jerusalem  fall.^^  With 
the  temple  desecrated  or  destroyed  and 
the  priesthood  decimated  and  scattered, 
what  was  to  become  of  the  established 
institutions  of  religion?  Could  Yah- 
wism survive  the  shock?  Micah  with 
unshrinking  faith  proclaimed  Yahweh  as 
superior  to  and  independent  of  his  city, 
his  temple,  and  his  people.  It  was  a 
faith  that  stopped  at  nothing. 

In  days  when  gods  measured  their 
strength  over  against  one  another  upon 
the  field  of  battle  and  a  god's  power  was 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       217 

estimated  in  terms  of  the  success  he 
brought  to  his  people,  such  faith  as  that 
of  the  prophets  of  Israel  becomes  of  ex- 
traordinary significance.  At  a  time  when 
Judah  was  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms, 
being  under  the  heavy  yoke  of  a  foreign 
oppression  and  deprived  of  native  King, 
when  Yahweh  did  not  have  a  foot  of 
land  that  he  could  call  his  own,  a  prophet 
with  triumphant  faith  could  say  (Hab. 
2  :  14) : 

The  earth  will  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the 

glory  of  Yahweh, 
Like  the  waters  which  cover  the  sea. 

Such  faith  survived  shock  after  shock. 
It  thrived  upon  misfortunes.  The  whole 
history  of  the  Messianic  idea  is  an  illus- 
tration of  this.  "Hope  deferred  makes 
the  heart  sick."  But  the  prophet's  faith 
fed  upon  its  disappointments.  The 
darker  the  outlook  became  for  political 
dominance,  the  brighter  did  the  proph- 
et's pictures  of  the  golden  age  become. 


218    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

Driven  from  one  vantage-point,  he  took 
refuge  upon  a  higher  one  and  continued 
to  pour  forth  pseans  of  triumphant  faith 
for  the  encouragement  of  his  stricken 
people.  Never  was  faith  more  severely 
tried,  and  never  was  it  more  splendidly 
vindicated. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  great- 
est contribution  made  to  religion  by  the 
prophet  was  in  the  realm  of  ethics. 
When  this  topic  comes  to  mind  we  at 
once  think  of  such  utterances  as  these: 

I  hate,  I  despise  your  feasts. 
And  I  take  no  delight  in  your  festivals. 
Yea,  though  ye  offer  me  your  burnt-offerings 
and  meat-offerings,  I  do  not  accept  them : 
Nor  do  I  regard  the  peace  offerings  of  your  fat 

beasts. 
Take  away  from  me  the  noise  of  your  songs : 
For  I  will  not  hear  the  melody  of  thy  harps. 
But  let  justice  roll  down  like  waters. 
And  righteousness  like  an  ever-flowing  stream. 

(Amos  5  :  21-24.) 

Wash  you,  make  you  clean; 
Put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from  my  eyes; 
Cease  to  do  evil;  learn  to  do  good; 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       219 

Seek  out  justice;  set  right  the  oppressor; 
Judge  the  fatherless;  plead  for  the  widow. 

(Isaiah  1  :  16-17.) 

Wherewithal  shall  I  come  before  Yahweh, 
And  bow  myself  before  the  God  of  Heaven? 
Shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt-offerings, 
With  calves  a  year  old? 

Will  Yahweh  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams, 
With  tens  of  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil? 
Shall  I  give  my  firstborn  for  my  transgression. 
The  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul? 
It  has  been  told  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good. 
Yea,  what  does  Yahweh  seek  from  thee 
But  to  do  justice  and  love  kindness. 
And  walk  humbly  with  thy  God? 

(Micah  6  :  6-8.) 

What  was  the  prophetic  contribution 
in  the  sphere  of  ethics?  Surely  men  had 
not  had  to  wait  for  the  prophets  to  tell 
them  that  it  was  wrong  to  he,  to  steal, 
to  cheat,  to  murder,  and  the  like?  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  these  things  were  con- 
demned by  the  moral  conscience  of  an- 
cient Babylonia,  as  witnessed  by  the 
Code  of  Hammurabi  (2123-2081  B.  C), 
and  also  by  that  of  old  Egypt  as  shown 


220    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

by  the  "negative  confession"  in  the 
Book  of  the  Dead.  These  precepts  of 
Babylonia  and  Egypt  antedate  Moses 
and  the  prophets  by  centuries.  Hence 
the  prophets  were  not  the  discoverers  of 
ethical  principles  to  any  great  extent. 
Their  service  was  rather  in  the  finding 
of  new  applications  for  old  truths  and 
pre-eminently  in  the  exaltation  of  ethics 
to  its  rightful  place  in  the  scheme  of 
things.  The  rest  of  the  Semitic  world 
was  not  without  ethics;  nor  was  there  a 
sharp  differentiation  between  ethics  and 
religion,  as  has  sometimes  been  main- 
tained. All  the  ethics  in  existence  was 
under  the  protection  of  the  gods.  But 
the  prophet  of  Israel  made  ethics  the 
supreme  concern  of  Yahweh.  Elsewhere 
ethics  was  only  one  among  many  inter- 
ests equally  dear  to  the  Deity;  in  Israel 
ethics  was  Yahweh's  dominant  interest. 
The  priests  of  Babylon,  for  example, 
attributed  the  overthrow  of  Babylon  by 
Cyrus  to  the  wrath  of  the  gods,  even  as 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       221 

the  prophets  of  Israel  made  Yahweh's 
anger  responsible  for  the  fall  of  Jerusa- 
lem. But,  whereas  the  anger  of  the  Baby- 
lonian gods  was  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  Nabonidus  had  not  taken  care 
of  the  shrines  and  provided  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  regular  offerings,^  the 
anger  of  Yahweh  was  aroused  by  the 
fact  that  the  moral  law  was  violated  on 
every  hand;   see,  e.  g.,  Jer.  7  :  1-15. 

This  difference  is  a  very  significant 
one,  and  it  is  one  that  marks  off  the 
prophet  not  merely  from  non-Hebrew 
religious  leaders  but  also  from  the  great 
mass  of  the  leaders  of  his  own  people. 
The  priests  never  gave  to  ethics  that 
pre-eminence  assigned  to  it  by  the 
prophet.  The  failure  to  do  so  evinced 
a  lack  of  proper  appreciation  of  the 
ethical  as  over  against  the  ritual.  He 
who  values  glass  equally  with  diamonds 
has    no    adequate    appreciation    of    dia- 

^  See  Cyrus  Cylinder,  a  translation  of  which  may  be  seen 
in  R,  W.  Rogers,  Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament 
(1913),  pp.  380-4. 


222    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

monds.  It  is  the  glory  of  the  prophet 
at  his  best  that  he  allowed  nothing  to 
share  the  place  that  belonged  of  right  to 
ethics  alone.  He  enthroned  ethics  in  the 
very  heart  of  Yahweh  and  thus  made 
Yahweh  the  God  of  the  universe.  Ethics 
knows  no  national  or  racial  bounds; 
sooner  or  later  it  inevitably  breaks  all 
such  restraints.  The  god  who  follows 
the  interests  of  ethics  wherever  they 
may  lead  him  is  ultimately  compelled  to 
make  all  mankind  his  province.  Along 
this  path  the  prophets  of  Israel  finally 
arrived  at  a  monotheistic  conception  of 
God.  This  was  not  a  philosophical  or  a 
speculative  but  an  ethical  monotheism. 
For  that  reason  it  did  not  remain,  as 
in  Babylonia  and  in  Egypt,  the  esoteric 
religion  of  that  select  few  who  were  able 
by  virtue  of  their  ability  and  training 
to  grasp  it  mentally  and  appreciate  it; 
but  it  became  at  last  the  religion  of  the 
masses.  For  all  men  appreciate  justice 
and  can  understand  a  just  God;  and  such 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       223 

a  God  kindles  a  contagious  enthusiasm 
among  his  worshippers  which  makes 
other  men  eager  to  hear  about  him. 
Thus  the  monotheism  of  Israel  was  not 
still-born,  but  grew  in  scope  and  power 
with  each  succeeding  generation. 

This  fact  suggests  another  character- 
istic of  the  religion  of  the  prophet  that 
is  of  great  importance.  It  was  not 
static  but  dynamic.  It  was  not  a  given 
system  of  thought  or  standard  of  life 
but  life  itself.  It  was  an  ever  growing, 
expanding,  and  conquering  force.  Con- 
sequently we  have  a  right  to  speak  of 
the  history  of  the  religion  of  the  prophet. 
His  religion  changed  from  generation  to 
generation  with  the  ever-changing  en- 
vironment. It  could  not  stand  still;  it 
must  move  forward  or  perish.  The  fact 
of  progress  is  easily  shown.  The  religion 
of  the  earlier  prophets  is  represented  by 
such  scenes  as  the  following:  Samuel 
hewed  Agag  in  pieces  before  Yahweh 
and  verily  thought  that  he  was  doing 


224    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

God  service  (I  Sam.  15  :  33).  Samuel 
offered  a  sucking  lamb  on  Yahweh's 
altar  for  the  purpose  of  securing  Yah- 
weh's aid  in  the  ensuing  battle  (I  Sam. 
7  :  9  jf.).  God  told  David  to  build  an 
altar  on  Araunah's  thrashing-floor,  and 
the  offering  there  made  by  David  was 
regarded  as  responsible  for  the  cessation 
of  the  death-dealing  pestilence  (II  Sam. 
24  :  18,  25).  Elijah  fled  from  his  people 
and  withdrew  to  Horeb  in  order  to  get 
nearer  to  Yahweh,  with  whom  that  moun- 
tain was  intimately  associated.  Micaiah 
ben  Imlah  thought  of  Yahweh  as  delib- 
erately sending  a  lying  spirit  to  mislead 
the  prophetic  counsellors  of  Ahab.  One 
old  prophet  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam  I 
lies  to  another  prophet  in  order  to  bring 
the  latter  to  his  death,  and,  notwith- 
standing that,  was  credited  with  a  sub- 
sequent revelation  from  Yahweh  (I  Kings 
13  :  18-20). 

In  marked  contrast  with  such  primi- 
tive  conceptions   as   these   we  find  the 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       225 

ideas  and  ideals  of  later  prophets.  Amos, 
with  a  god-idea  that  is  already  tran- 
scending national  and  geographic  limits, 
says: 

Are  ye  not  as  the  children  of  the  Ethiopians  unto 
me, 

O  children  of  Israel?    It  is  the  oracle  of  Yahweh. 

Did  I  not  bring  up  Israel  from  the  land  of  Egypt, 

And  the  Phihstines  from  Caphtor,  and  the  Syri- 
ans from  Kir?     (Amos  9:7;  c/.  9  :  3.) 

The  great  unknown  prophet  of  the 
exile  abounds  in  statements  of  the  om- 
nipotence and  universality  of  Yahweh, 
e,  g,: 

Thus  says  the  God  Yahweh, 
He  who  created  the  heavens  and  stretched  them 

forth; 
Who  spread  abroad  the  earth  with  its  products; 
Who  gives  breath  to  the  people  upon  it, 
And  spirit  to  those  who  walk  thereon. 

(Isaiah  42  :  5;  cf.  40  :  12/.;  45  :  21-23.) 

The  same  prophet  furnishes  a  splendid 
contrast  to  the  narrow  and  particularis- 
tic spirit  of  earlier  times  when  he  repre- 


226  PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

sents  the  Servant  of  Yahweh,  which  is 
Israel,  as  saying: 

And  now  Yahweh,  who  formed  me  from  the  womb 
to  be  his  Servant,  says 

That  he  will  bring  Jacob  back  to  him  and  that 
Israel  shall  be  gathered  to  him.  .  .  . 

Moreover  he  says,  Since  thou  art  my  Servant,  it 
is  too  slight  a  thing 

That  I  should  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob  and  re- 
store the  preserved  of  Israel; 

And  so  I  will  set  thee  to  be  the  light  of  the  nations, 

That  my  dehverance  may  be  to  the  end  of  the 
earth.     (Isaiah  49  :  5,  6.) 

In  contrast  with  the  eariier  emphasis 
upon  sacrifice,  the  later  prophets  are 
always  minimising  it  and  exalting  ethi- 
cal and  social  duties,  e,  g.^  Amos  5  :  ^5; 
Jer.  7  :  22;  Micah  6  :  6-8.  Lying,  which 
is  done  with  Yahweh's  approval  by  early 
prophets,  is  unsparingly  denounced  by 
later  ones:  Hosea  4:2;  Micah  2  :  11; 
Isaiah  9  :  15;   Jer.  9:3;  Zeph.  3  :  13. 

The  prophet  was  able  to  make  progress 
of  this  sort  in  part  because  he  always 
faced  forward.     He  was  in  no  sense  tied 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION        227 

to  the  past.  He  appreciated  his  nation's 
past  and  drew  largely  upon  the  experience 
of  the  past  for  guidance  and  inspiration. 
But  he  refused  to  allow  it  to  paralyse  his 
own  initiative.  He  stood  upon  the  solid 
achievement  of  the  past  and  reached  up- 
ward to  higher  and  better  things.  He 
did  not  fear  to  criticise  the  past  when 
that  seemed  necessary. 

He  unhesitatingly  discarded  outworn 
interpretations  and  dogmas  and  made 
for  himself  new  ones  at  need.  Ahijah  the 
Shilonite  and  his  associates  supported 
Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  in  his  re- 
volt; Hosea  seems  to  have  looked  back 
upon  that  transaction  as  a  mistake  and 
later  writers  longed  for  the  healing  of 
the  schism  (Isaiah  11  :  13-14).  Early 
prophets  were  fully  satisfied  with  the 
conception  of  social  solidarity.  Ezekiel, 
seeing  the  failure  of  this  dogma  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  day,  formulated  the  doc- 
trine of  individual  responsibility  to  God 
(see  pp.  168  jf.).     So  from  age  to  age  the 


228    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

prophet  moved  onward  and  upward, 
with  face  ever  toward  the  hght,  rever- 
ent toward  the  old  truth,  but  hospitable 
toward  the  new. 

It  follows,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that 
the  religion  of  the  prophet  was  not  a 
gift,  nor  even  an  inheritance,  but  rather 
an  achievement.  That  which  did  come 
as  a  heritage  from  the  past  was  re-melted 
and  refined  in  the  forge  of  his  own  ex- 
perience and  welded  with  the  new  until 
the  whole  constituted  a  new  product. 
The  source  of  the  prophet's  religious 
creations  was  in  large  measure  the  life 
of  his  own  age.  His  knowledge  of  the 
past  was  limited  to  a  few  legends  and 
traditions,  some  of  them  in  written  form 
but  more  of  them  unwritten.  He  had 
no  comprehensive  library.  He  had  no 
Bible.  He  was  unconsciously  helping  in 
the  task  of  making  the  Bible.  He  was 
thus  limited  in  his  range  of  materials  for 
preaching  to  the  resources  of  his  own 
mind  and  heart  and  to  the  social  and 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION       229 

political  movements  of  his  day.  In  the 
very  nature  of  the  case  he  had  no  au- 
thority from  the  past  pointing  out  to 
him  clearly  the  way  he  should  take  in 
the  present.  The  responsibility  for  the 
moral  and  religious  leadership  of  Israel 
rested  heavily  upon  his  shoulders.  New 
and  perplexing  problems  in  the  sphere 
of  morals  and  religion  were  ever  arising. 
He  had  no  patent  or  ready-made  solu- 
tion for  them.  Each  had  to  be  faced 
and  wrestled  with  as  it  appeared.  Con- 
flicting voices  were  from  time  to  time 
calling  out:  "This  is  the  way;  walk  ye 
in  it."  On  his  knees  before  his  God 
he  struggled  and  agonised  for  the  light 
precisely  as  his  modern  successors  must 
do.  As  he  fought  his  way  through  dark- 
ness to  victory  his  religion  grew  in  com- 
pass and  in  power.  He  worked  for  his 
religion  and  worked  hard.  He  rang  the 
changes,  as  all  great  souls  must,  on 
doubt,  faith,  despair,  hope,  success,  fail- 
ure, joy,  and  sorrow.     Thus  he  made  his 


230    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

religion  out  of  the  stuff  of  his  daily  ob- 
servation and  experience. 

The  task  of  the  prophet  was  to  inter- 
pret the  world  as  he  saw  it  in  terms  of  his 
religion.     The  questions  he  asked  him- 
self in  the  presence  of  any  given  condi- 
tion or  set  of  conditions  were:  What  does 
this  mean  for  rehgion?     How  is  this  to 
be   fitted    in    with   the   conviction   that 
Yahweh  loves  his  people  and  works  for 
their    good?     What    is    Yahweh    saying 
through  this   experience  to  his  people? 
Such  questions  as  these  were  not  always 
easy  of  answer  even  for  a  prophet.    The 
book   of   Habbakuk   reveals   a   prophet 
struggling  with  Yahweh  for  an  answer 
and  not  satisfied  till  he  has  thought  the 
problem   through   to   the   end.     We   do 
the  prophets  an  injustice  if  we  think  of 
them  as  in  any  sense  excused  from  the 
toil   and   trial   that   beset   the   path    of 
rehgiously    minded   men    to-day.     As   a 
matter  of  fact,  they   had  far  less   illu- 
mination upon  the  pathway  of  hfe  than 


THE  PROPHET'S  RELIGION        231 

the  man  of  the  present  day  has  at  his 
disposal.  They  were  forced  to  Hve  by 
faith  and  not  by  sight.  Yet,  with  a 
sense  of  certainty  that  compels  admira- 
tion and  a  degree  of  accuracy  that  chal- 
lenges comparison,  they  came  forward 
time  and  again  in  the  midst  of  most 
obscure  and  trying  situations  with  their 
^Hhus  saith  Yahweh." 

The  prophetic  religion  was  thus  kept 
in  constant  touch  with  the  developing 
life  of  the  nation.  But  that  national  life 
was  continuously  involved  in  the  most 
intimate  way  with  the  mighty  currents  of 
the  larger  world  life  around  it.  Hence 
the  religion  was  made  in  the  full  light  of 
world  history.  It  grew  as  the  mind  of 
Israel  grew.  It  laid  hold  upon  the  great 
world  movements  of  the  time  and  claimed 
them  for  itself  and  for  its  God.  The 
whole  psychic  life  of  Israel  moved  for- 
ward as  a  unit.  There  was  no  gap  be- 
tween the  secular  and  the  religious;  but 
they   kept   even   step   in   the   march   of 


232    PROPHET  AND  HIS  PROBLEMS 

progress.  Thus,  so  long  as  the  proph- 
ets directed  the  course  of  Israel's  religious 
life  there  was  no  thought  of  religion 
being  left  behind  in  the  general  forward 
movement.  The  prophetic  religion  was 
always  fully  up  to  date. 

The  task  of  the  prophets  is  not  yet 
done.  Nor  is  it  likely  ever  to  be  com- 
pleted. They  have  much  to  teach  the 
successive  generations  of  mankind.  Not 
that  their  ideas  will  always  be  found 
adequate  to  modern  needs;  for  they 
themselves  would  have  been  the  last  to 
expect  permanency  for  their  utterances. 
Theirs  was  the  world-view  of  their  day. 
The  modern  scientific  mind  cannot  ac- 
cept that.  The  world-view  of  to-day  is 
separated  from  that  of  the  prophets  by 
centuries  of  study  and  experience.  But 
the  prophets'  religious  ideas  fitted  their 
world.  Many  of  them  are  out  of  place 
in  the  world-view  of  to-day.  But  their 
attitude  toward  God  and  his  world  and 
their  way  of  working  out  their  own  and 


THE  PROPHET^S  RELIGION       233 

their  contemporaries'  religious  salvation 
will  always  be  full  of  instruction  and  in- 
spiration to  him  who  reads  the  record 
of  their  work  aright.  He  who  would 
slavishly  seek  to  imitate  them  would 
totally  misunderstand  their  spirit.  It  is 
for  the  modern  prophet  rather  to  face 
the  facts  of  life  with  open  eye,  to  read 
the  message  of  God  to  the  age  as  it  is 
revealed  in  those  facts  and  processes, 
and  to  surrender  himself  in  the  full  as- 
surance of  faith  to  the  task  of  declar- 
ing and  interpreting  that  message  to  his 
fellow  men.  So  will  prophecy  live  again 
and  religion  once  more  become  a  quick- 
ening power  upon  the  minds  of  men. 


APPENDIX 

A  LIST  OF  BOOKS  FOR  THE  GENERAL 

READER 

1.    On  Prophecy 

C.  H.  Cornill,  The  Prophets  of  Israel.  Chicago:  Open 
Court  Publishing  Co.     1901.     $1.00. 

L.  W.  Batten,  The  Hebrew  Prophet.  New  York:  Mac- 
millan.     1905.    $1.50. 

A.  F.  Kirkpatrick,  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets.  New 
York:  Macmillan.     1892.    $1.50. 

W.  R.  Smith,  The  Prophets  of  Israel  and  Their  Place 
in  History  to  the  Close  of  the  Eighth  Century  B.  C. 
New  edition,  with  Introduction  by  T.  K.  Cheyne. 
London:  A.  &  C.  Black.     1896.     10s.  6d. 

A.  B.  Davidson,  Old  Testament  Prophecy.  New  York: 
Scribners.     1904.     $3.50. 

W.  H.  Bennett,  The  Religion  of  the  Post-Exilic  Proph- 
ets.    New  York:  Scribners.     1907.     $2.00. 

Georgia  L.  Chamberlin,  The  Hebrew  Prophets,  or  Pa- 
triots and  Leaders  of  Israel.  Chicago:  The  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  Press.     1914.     $1.25. 

Moses  Buttenwieser,  The  Prophets  of  Israel  from  the 
Eighth  to  the  Fifth  Century— Their  Faith  and  Their 
Message.     New  York:  Macmillan.     1914.     $2.00. 

A.  C.  Knudson,  The  Beacon  Lights  of  Prophecy.  An 
Interpretation  of  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel  and  Deutero-Isaiah.  New  York:  Eaton 
&  Mains.     1914.     $1.25. 

G.  C.  Joyce,  The  Inspiration  of  Prophecy.  An  Essay 
in  the  Psychology  of  Revelation.  New  York:  Ox- 
ford University  Press.     1910.     $1.40. 

235 


236  A  LIST  OF  BOOKS 

A.  C.  Welch,  The  Religion  of  Israel  under  the  Kingdom. 
New  York:   Scribners.     1912.     $3.00. 

K.  Budde,  The  Religion  of  Israel  to  the  Exile.  New 
York:  Putnams.     1899.     $1.50. 

H.  P.  Smith,  The  Religion  of  Israel.  An  Historical 
Study.     New  York:  Scribners.     1914.     $2.50. 

J.  F.  McCurdy,  History,  Prophecy,  and  the  Monu- 
ments. New  edition.  New  York:  Macmillan. 
1911.     $3.00. 

2.    On  Literature 

S.    R.   Driver,  An   Introduction   to   the   Literature   of 

the  Old  Testament.     Revised  edition.     New  York: 

Scribners.     1914.     $2.50. 
G.  B.  Gray,  A  Critical  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testa- 

ment.     New  York:  Scribners.     1913.     75  cents. 
G.  F.  Moore,  The  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament.    New 

York:   Henry  Holt  &  Co.     1913.     50  cents. 
H.  T.  Fowler,  A  History  of  the  Literature  of  Ancient 

Israel.     New  York:   Macmillan.     1912.     $2.25. 
C.  H.  Cornill,  An  Introduction  to  the  Canonical  Books 

of  the  Old  Testament.    New  York:  Putnams.    1907. 

$3.00. 
J.  E.  McFadyen,  An  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament, 

New  York:  Geo.  H.  Doran.     1905.    $1.75. 


3.    On  History 

H.  P.  Smith,  Old  Testament  History.  New  York: 
Scribners.     1903.     $2.50. 

G.  W.  Wade,  Old  Testament  History.  New  York: 
Button  &  Co.     1903.    $1.50. 

C.  H.  Cornill,  History  of  the  People  of  Israel.  Chi- 
cago:  Open  Court  Publishing  Co.     1898.     $1.50. 

C.  F.  Kent,  History  of  the  Hebrew  People  and  A  His- 
tory of  the  Jewish  People.  3  vols.  New  York: 
Scribners.     1896-9.     $3.75. 


A  LIST  OF  BOOKS  237 

H.  R.  Hall,  The  Ancient  History  of  the  Near  East.    New 

York:  Macmillan.     1913.     $5.00. 
J.  H.  Breasted,  A  History  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians. 

New  York:  Scribners.     1908.     $1.25. 
G.  S.  Goodspeed,  A  History  of  the  Babylonians  and 

Assyrians.    New  York:  Scribners.     1902.     $1.25. 

4.    On  Arch/eology 

R.  W.  Rogers,  Cuneiform  Parallels  to  the  Old  Testament. 
New  York:  Eaton  &  Mains.     1912.     $4.50. 

S.  A.  B.  Mercer,  Extra-Biblical  Sources  for  Hebrew  and 
Jevnsh  History.  New  York:  Longmans,  Green  & 
Co.     1913.     $1.50. 

S.  R.  Driver,  Modern  Research  as  Ulustrating  the  Bible. 
New  York:   Oxford  University  Press.     $1.00. 

P.  S.  P.  Handcock,  The  Latest  Light  on  the  Old  Testa- 
ment from  the  Monuments.  London :  Society  for 
Promotion  of  Christian  ICnowledge.     1913.     6s. 

Ira  M.  Price,  The  Monuments  and  the  Old  Testament. 
Philadelphia:  American  Baptist  Publication  So- 
ciety.    1911.     $1.50. 

J.  H.  Breasted,  Ancient  Records  of  Egypt.  5  vols. 
Chicago:  University  of  Chicago  Press.  1906. 
$17.00. 

5.    Easy  Commentaries  on  the  Prophets 

The  Expositor's  Bible.  New  York:  Geo.  H.  Doran. 
Especially  the  volumes  on  Isaiah  and  the  Twelve 
Prophets,  by  G.  Adam  Smith. 

The  Century  Bible.  Edinburgh:  T.  C.  &  E.  C.  Jack. 
Especially  the  volume  on  the  Minor  Prophets,  by 
Driver;  those  on  Jeremiah,  by  Peake;  on  Isaiah, 
by  Whitehouse;  on  Ezekiel,  by  Lofthouse. 

The  Cambridge  Bible.  Cambridge:  The  University 
Press.  Especially  the  volumes  on  Joel,  Amos,  and 
Daniel,  by  Driver;  those  on  Micah  and  Hosea, 


238  A  LIST  OF  BOOKS 

by  Cheyne;  on  Isaiah,  by  Skinner;  on  Nahum, 
Habakkuk,  Zephaniab,  and  Ezekiel,  by  A.  B. 
Davidson. 

The  Bible  for  Home  and  School.  New  York:  Mac- 
millan.  Only  Isaiah,  by  J.  E.  McFadyen,  and 
Amos,  Hosea,  and  Micah,  by  J.  M.  Powis  Smith, 
are  thus  far  pubHshed. 

M.  G.  Glazebrook,  Studies  in  the  Book  of  Isaiah.  Ox- 
ford:  The  Clarendon  Press.     1910. 

G.  W.  Wade,  The  Book  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah.  London : 
Methuen  &  Co.     1911.     10s.  6d. 

S.  R.  Driver,  The  Book  of  the  Prophet  Jeremiah.  New 
York:  Geo.  H.  Doran.     1906.     $1.50. 

J.  R.  Gillies,  Jeremiah,  the  Man  and  His  Message.  New 
York:   Geo.  H.  Doran.     1908.     $1.50. 

F.  C.  Eiselen,  The  Minor  Prophets.  New  York:  Eaton 
&  Mains.     1907.     $2.00 

6.    Bible  Dictionaries 

James  Hastings,  A  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.     5  vols. 

New  York:  Scribners.     1898-1904.     $6.00  per  vol. 
James  Hastings,  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.     1  vol.     New 

York:  Scribners.     1909.     $5.00. 
M.  W.  Jacobus,  et  al.^  A  Standard  Bible  Dictionary, 

New  York:  Funk  &  Wagnalls.     1909.     $6.00. 


INDEX 


Ahab,  Micaiab's  prophecy  concern- 
ing, 61-65;  activities  of  Elijah 
against,  145-149. 

Ahaz,  Isaiah's  attempt  to  influence 
policy  of,  149-163;  Isaiah's 
preachment  of  faith  to,  213. 

Ahijah,  death  of  Jeroboam's  son 
foretold  by,  94-95;  an  example 
of  the  prophet  as  political  leader, 
143-145. 

Amaziah,  priest,  judgment  passed 
on  prophets  by,  66-67. 

Amaziah,  King,  failure  of,  to  avenge 
murder  of  his  father,  170-171. 

Amos,  absence  of  ecstatic  experi- 
ences in,  47;  view  held  by,  of 
prophets,  66-67;  indefinite  char- 
acter of  prophetic  warnings 
uttered  by,  97;  failure  of  fulfil- 
ment of  prediction  of,  as  to  fall  of 
Samaria,  102-103. 

Ashurbanipal,  vision  of,  7-8. 

Assuan,  discovery  of  Jewish  temple 
at,  194  n. 

Assyria,  visions  and  oracles  in  re- 
ligion of,  6-11;  priestly  rank  of 
diviners  of,  11 ;  points  of  difference 
between  prophets  of,  and  those  of 
Israel,  11;  political  activities  of 
Hebrew  prophets  at  times  of  re- 
volt against,  145-160. 

Baalism,   service  of  early  Hebrew 

prophets   for    Yahwism    against, 

48-58. 
Babylon,    prophecies    relating    to, 

9-10. 
Babylonia,  influence  of  civilisation 

of,  upon  individualism  among  the 

Hebrews,  195-200;    ethics  in  the 

religious  code  of,  219. 
Balaam,     a    prophet    of    Yahweh 

though  not  a  Hebrew,  6. 
Baldensperger,  article  by,  cited,  169. 
Barnes,    W.    E.,    commentary    on 

Kings  by,  95. 


Baumgarten,  W.,  cited,  121. 

Bedikian,  A.  A.,  quoted  on  predic- 
tion among  Armenians,  105-106. 

Bertholet,  work  by,  cited,  205,  207. 

Blood-revenge,  practice  of,  an  out- 

•  come  of  solidarity  of  family  life 
in  Israel,  170. 

Bousset,  work  by,  cited,  198. 

Breasted,  J.  H.,  works  by,  cited,  12, 
29. 

Buttenwieser,  Moses,  mistaken  view 
in  work  by,  100  n. 

Byblos,  an  instance  of  prophecy  in, 
12-15. 

Cheyne,  Two  Religions  of  Israel, 
cited,  33. 

Church  and  state,  intermixture  of 
interests  of  Hebrew,  138. 

Clan,  solidarity  of,  in  early  Israel 
and  present-day  Palestine,  169- 
171;  influences  which  worked 
against  the,  in  favour  of  develop- 
ment of  the  individual,  174-189. 

Contagion  of  prophecy,  44. 

Cornill,  C.  H.,  cited,  180,  191. 

Cyrus  and  the  soothsayer,  account 
of,  92. 

Daiches,  Samuel,  quoted  concern- 
ing Ezekiel,  199  n. 

Daughter,  significance  of  word,  in 
Hebrew  usage,  122. 

David,  use  of  music  by,  in  soothing 
Saul,  43. 

Day,  The  Social  Life  of  the  Hebrews, 
cited,  174,  175. 

Deborah,  service  of,  as  a  prophetess 
in  patriotic  war  of  the  Israelites, 
55. 

Deluge  narrative  of  Babylonia,  in- 
dividual responsibility  for  sin 
expressed  in,  198-199. 

Dervishes,  inducement  of  ecstatic 
trance  by,  43. 


239 


240 


INDEX 


Deutero-Isaiah,  absence  of  ecstatic 
experiences  in,  47. 

Deuteronomic  law,  principle  of  in- 
dividualism in,  206-207. 

Ecstasy,  state  of,  characteristic  of 
prophecy.  14,  39  Jf.;  music  as  an 
aid  to,  42-43;  contagious  char- 
acter of,  43-45;  bordered  on  in- 
sanity, 45-46;  repudiation  of,  by 
prophecy  at  its  best,  47-48. 

Egypt,  parallels  to  Hebrew  prophecy 
in,  16-33;  extent  of  influence  of 
prophecy  of,  on  that  of  Israel,  34; 
Jewish  temple  in,  194  n. 

Elijah,  activities  of,  in  state  affairs, 
145-149. 

Elisha,  music  as  an  aid  to,  in  proph- 
esying, 42;  events  correctly  pre- 
dicted by,  95;  political  activities 
of,  145. 

Esarhaddon,  oracles  of,  6-7. 

Ethical  ideals  of  the  prophets,  influ- 
ence of,  on  development  of  indi- 
vidualism, 183-184. 

Ethics,  the  prophets'  contribution 
to  religion  in  the  realm  of,  218- 
223. 

Ezekiel,  as  a  political  adviser  of  the 
Hebrews,  163;  preaching  of  indi- 
vidual responsibility  by,  190,  192- 
193.  200-206. 

Faith,  large  place  given  to,  in  proph- 
ets' religion,  211-218;  Isaiah's 
supreme,  212-215;  strength  of 
Micah's,  215-218. 

False  prophets,  69  jf.;  distinguish- 
ing between  true  and,  59-61; 
Ahab  and  the,  61-65;  real  ground 
of  distinction  between  true  and, 
found  in  attitude  toward  prob- 
lems of  their  day,  79-86. 

Family,  solidarity  of,  in  early 
Israel,  169-171. 

Figs  a  feature  of  certain  Oriental 
marriage  ceremonies,  121. 

Foretelling,  not  necessarily  or  gen- 
erally a  function  of  the  prophet, 
87;  instances  of,  90-95.  See 
Prediction. 

Frenzy  associated  with  early  proph- 
ecy, 39-48. 


Gardiner,  Alan  H.,  translations  by, 

of   Egyptian  documents,  16,  19; 

cited,  81,  32. 
God,  the    Hebrew    prophets'  vivid 

consciousness  of,  209-211. 
Gomer,  harlot  wife  of  Hosea,  109- 

134. 
Gray,  C.  D.,  translations  by,  cited,  7. 

Haggai,  character  of  prophetic  ut- 
terances of,  98. 

Hammurabi,  Code  of,  195. 

Hananiah,  conflicting  preachings  of 
Jeremiah  and,  69-72;  death  of, 
foretold  by  Jeremiah,  94. 

Hebrews,  position  of,  as  members  of 
the  Semitic  family,  3-4. 

Hosea,  absence  of  ecstatic  experi- 
ences in,  47;  quoted  to  show  strug- 
gle between  Baalism  and  Yah- 
wism,  50-51;  indefinite  character 
of  prophetic  warnings  uttered  by, 
97;  the  marriage  of,  an  illustra- 
tion of  a  prophet's  self-abnegation, 
109^.;  conflicting  views  among 
scholars  of  significance  of  mar- 
riage of,  111-112. 

Individual,  relation  of  the  prophet 
to  the,  168^.;  submergence  of 
the,  in  the  clan  or  family,  169-172; 
recognition  of  the,  in  oases  of  ex- 
ceptional men,  172-174;  influ- 
ences working  toward  complete 
habilitation  of  the,  174  J^. 

Individualism,  influence  of  social 
and  industrial  life  of  Canaan  on, 
174-175;  favourable  effect  of  es- 
tablishment of  monarchical  gov- 
ernment, 175-177;  effect  of  ethical 
and  religious  forces,  177;  essential 
trend  toward,  of  teachings  of  the 
sages,  177-178;  individualistic 
features  of  the  priesthood,  178- 
182;  germ  of,  in  prophecy,  182- 
188;  the  idea  of  the  remnant, 
182-183;  insistence  by  prophets 
upon  ethical  ideals,  183-184; 
question  of  preaching  of,  by  Jere- 
miah, 191  n.;  defined  and  enun- 
ciated by  Ezekiel,  192-193,  200- 
206;  effect  on,  of  lack  of  facilities 
to  worship  in  Babylonia,  194-196; 


INDEX 


241 


influence  from  side  of  Babylonian 
civilisation,  195-200;  present  in 
the  "astrologic  fatalism"  of  the 
Babylonians,  198:  principle  of,  in 
Deuteronomic  law,  206-207. 

Insanity,  primitive  prophecy  re- 
garded as,  45-46;  acts  of  prophets 
bordering  on,  135;  wherein  proph- 
ets were  saved  from  danger  of, 
135-136. 

Ipuwer,  Egyptian  priest  resembling 
Hebrew  prophets,  20-30. 

Isaiah,  absence  of  ecstatic  experi- 
ences in,  47;  views  of,  at  time  of 
Sennacherib's  invasion,  75;  la- 
bours of,  in  state  affairs,  149-162; 
pre-eminently  a  prophet  of  faith, 
212-215. 

Israelites,  as  members  of  the  Semitic 
family,  3-4;  openness  of  attitude 
toward  other  nations,  4-5;  dis- 
tinguished from  their  neighbours 
in  sphere  of  quality  and  degree 
only,  5;  influence  of  prophecy  of 
other  nations  on  that  of,  33-34; 
comparative  nobility  and  purity 
of  conceptions  of,  34-35;  begin- 
nings of  prophecy  among,  36^. 

Jastrow,  M.,  Jr.,  Religion  of  Baby' 
Ionia  and  Assyria,  cited,  6. 

Jehu,  incident  of  the  anointing  of, 
by  a  prophet,  45. 

Jeremiah,  absence  of  ecstatic  experi- 
ences in,  47;  conflict  between 
views  of  Hananiah  and,  69-72; 
nature  of  prophetic  warnings  by, 
97-98;  as  a  political  adviser,  162- 
163;  individual  responsibility 
taught  by,  189-192;  question  of 
preaching  of  individualism  by, 
191  n. 

Jerusalem,  effect  of  establishment  of 
national  capital  at,  on  develop- 
ment of  individualism  among  the 
Hebrews,  176. 


Lane,  E.  W.,  instances  of  prediction 
related  by,  90-92. 

Lange,  H.  O.,  work  by,  cited,  19. 

Leiden  papyrus,  studies  and  trans- 
lations of,  18-33. 

McCurdy,  History,  Prophecy,  and 
the  Monuments,  quoted,  181. 

Macdonald,  D.  B.,  Aspects  of 
Islam,  cited,  43. 

Magic  in  Egyptian  prophetic 
writing,  25. 

Marriage  ceremonies  among  Orien- 
tals, 121-127. 

Maspero,  New  Light  on  Ancient 
Egypt,  cited,  33. 

Meinhold,  work  by,  cited,  182. 

Merodach-baladan,  a  leader  in  re- 
volt against  Assyria,  157. 

Messiah,  desire  for  coming  of,  ex- 
pressed in  Egyptian  prophetic 
utterance,  31-32. 

Messina,  foretelling  of  destruction 
of,  92. 

Meyer,  Ed.,  Die  Israeliten,  cited, 
31,  32. 

Micah,  prediction  concerning  a  com- 
ing Messiah,  32;  absence  of 
ecstatic  experiences  in,  47;  ques- 
tion raised  by  attitude  of,  during 
Sennacherib's  invasion,  75-76; 
non-fulfilment  of  prediction  of,  as 
to  immediate  ruin  of  Jerusalem, 
103;  prophetic  faith  illustrated 
by,  215-218. 

Micaiah,  prophecy  of,  concerning 
Ahab,  62-65;  an  example  of  fore- 
teller combined  with  prophet,  94. 

Mob  spirit,  comparison  between 
contagion  of  prophecy  and,  43-44. 

Monarchical  government,  effect  of, 
on  development  of  the  individual, 
175-177. 

Afo/a-marriages,  121. 

Music,  use  of,  in  prophecy,  42-43. 

Muss-Arnolt,  Wm.,  translation  by, 
199. 


Kings,  activities  of  prophets  in  be- 
half of  or  against,  140-163. 

Knudson,  A.,  Beacon  Lights  of 
Prophecy,  cited,  92. 

Kraetzschmar,  quoted  on  Ezekiel, 
200  n. 


Names,    personal,    compounds    of 

"Yahweh,"  173. 
Nathan,  example  furnished  by,  of 

political    activities    of   prophets, 

143. 
Nestle,  Eb.,  work  by,  cited,  121. 


242 


INDEX 


Oracles,  held  in  common  by  Semitic 
world,  5;  in  Assyrian  religion,  6-7. 

Patriotism,  service  of  prophets  in 
interests  of,  53-54. 

Peiser,  work  by,  cited,  11. 

Penitential  psalms  of  Babylonians, 
individualism  shown  in,  198. 

Philistines,  diviners  among,  6; 
Samuel's  important  services  in 
struggle  against,  56-57. 

Political  affairs,  prophets  as  leaders 
in,  140-163. 

Prediction,  not  a  necessary  part  of 
the  office  of  prophet,  87;  apparent 
cases  of,  through  prophets'  at- 
tempt to  interpret  Yahweh's  will 
for  the  future,  89-90;  instances  of, 
90-95;  not  the  aim  of  the  greater 
prophets,  96;  not  of  primary  im- 
portance to  the  prophets,  but  only 
the  means  to  a  greater  end,  99- 
100;  large  element  of  the  condi- 
tional in,  101;  frequent  failure  of 
fulfilment  of,  102-104;  in  reality 
an  expression  of  longing  and  of 
hope,  104-106;  fallacy  of  looking 
to  the  prophetic  writings  for  a  key 
to  meaning  of  later  events,  106. 

Priesthood,  individualistic  features 
of  the  Hebrew,  178-182. 

Prophecy,  not  an  exclusively  Israel- 
itish  institution,  3-4;  cases  of, 
among  non-Hebraic  peoples,  5  f.; 
among  the  Midianites,  Moabites, 
and  Philistines,  6;  in  Assyrian 
religion,  6-11;  cases  of,  in  north- 
ern Syria,  12-16;  in  Egypt,  16-33; 
Israelitish,  antedated  by  non- 
Israelitish,  33-34;  comparative 
nobility  and  purity  of  Israelitish, 
34-35;  beginnings  of,  in  Israel, 
36  jf.;  early  kinship  with  "second 
sight,"  38-39;  ecstatic  character 
of  early,  39-48;  music  as  an  aid 
in,  42-43;  contagion  of,  compared 
with  the  mob  spirit,  44;  repudia- 
tion of  ecstasy  by  Hebrew  proph- 
ecy at  its  best,  47-48;  importance 
of  service  rendered  by,  to  the 
religion  of  the  time,  48  jf.;  futility 
of,  to  arrest  progress  of  civilisation 
in  Israel,  52-53;  value  as  a  con- 
serving element,  53;    services  of 


in  national  struggles  against  ene- 
mies, 53-57;  false  and  true,  59- 
86;  prediction  not  included  in 
significance  of,  87;  insanity  and. 
135-136;  the  germ  of  individual- 
ism held  within,  182-183. 
Prophets,  true  and  false,  59  Jf.;  out- 
ward signs  of,  60-61;  reputation 
for  self-seeking  borne  by,  65-66; 
unworthiness  of  a  large  number, 
67;  question  of  dependence  to  be 
placed  upon  true,  74-78;  the  real 
basis  of  distinction  between  true 
and  false,  79-82;  foretelling  not 
included  in  meaning  of  word 
"prophet,"  87;  real  office  of,  to 
serve  as  spokesmen  of  Yahweh,  88; 
led  into  prediction  by  interpreting 
the  will  of  Yahweh  regarding  the 
future,  89-90;  the  greater,  not 
desirous  of  being  mere  diviners,  96; 
warnings  or  promises  by,  relating 
to  the  future,  97-99;  general  and 
indefinite  character  of  warnings 
uttered  by,  97-99;  prediction 
regarded  as  only  the  means  for  the 
attainment  of  a  greater  end  by, 
99-100;  failure  of  fulfilment  of 
predictions  of,  102-104;  predic- 
tions of  calamity  upon  the  heathen 
and  blessing  upon  Israel  the  ex- 
pression of  a  conviction  of  the 
moral  justice  of  God,  104;  benefit 
to  be  derived  from  sympathy  with 
spirit  of,  107-108;  self-abnegation 
of,  illustrated  by  Hosea's  mar- 
riage with  Gomer,  109-134;  shown 
by  Hosea's  experience  to  be  men 
in  a  class  by  themselves,  not  men 
of  ordinary  or  modern  minds,  134- 
136;  main  objective  of,  the  wel- 
fare of  the  state,  137;  services 
rendered  the  state  by,  in  critical 
times,  140-163;  vital  interest  of, 
in  the  politics  of  the  day,  163-164; 
their  task  to  represent  the  claims 
of  Yahweh,  164;  the  life  of  the 
state  a  necessity  to  the  existence 
of,  167;  relation  of,  to  the  indi- 
vidual, 168  #.;  tendency  of,  to 
develop  individualism,  182  Jf.; 
vitality  of  religion  of,  shown  in 
their  ability  to  meet  the  question 
of  individualism,  207-208;    chief 


INDEX 


243 


characteristics  of  religion  of, 
209^.;  their  vivid  consciousness 
of  God,  209-211;  firmness  of  the 
faith  of,  211-218;  contributions 
of,  in  the  realm  of  ethics,  218-223; 
ethics  made  the  supreme  concern 
of  Yahweh  by,  220-223;  dynamic 
rather  than  static  character  of 
religion  of,  223;  adaptability  of, 
to  their  times,  226-228;  their 
religion  not  a  gift  or  an  inheritance, 
but  an  achievement,  228-230; 
their  task  to  interpret  their 
world  in  terms  of  religion,  230; 
lessons  yet  to  be  learned  from, 
232-233. 

Ranke,  H.,  cited,  32. 
Remnant,  idea  of  the,  a  starting- 
point  for  individualism,  182-183. 

Sacrifice,  divergent  views  of,  among 
early  and  later  prophets,  223- 
224,  226. 

Sages,  individualistic  influence  of 
teachings  of,  177-178. 

Samuel,  at  once  a  priest  and  a 
prophet,  11;  regarded  as  a  "seer," 
38-39;  service  of,  in  the  struggle 
with  the  Philistines,  56-57;  an 
example  of  the  prophet  as  director 
of  state  affairs,  141-143. 

Saul,  view  taken  by,  of  Samuel  as  a 
seer,  37-39;  the  prophesying  of, 
39-44. 

Savonarola,  gift  of  prediction  pos- 
sessed by,  93. 

Second  sight,  prophecy  viewed  as, 
38-39. 

Sennacherib,  crushing  of  revolt  of 
Assyrian  vassal  states  by,  156- 
162;  questions  concerning  pesti- 
lence sent  against  army  of,  161- 
162. 

Silanus,  soothsayer,  story  of,  92. 

Skinner,  J.,  cited,  95. 

Smend,  work  by,  cited,  182, 184, 191. 

Smith,  W.  R.,  works  by,  cited,  169. 

Snefru,  King  of  Egj'pt,  prophetic 
revelation  to,  16-18. 

Solidarity  of  family,  clan,  or  tribe 
in  Israel,  169-172. 

Solomon,  clan  and  tribal  limits  dis- 
regarded by,  176. 


Son,  use  of  word,  to  express  age,  122. 

Sons  of  the  prophets,  use  of  term, 
41-42. 

State,  intermixture  of  interests  of 
church  and,  among  Hebrews,  138; 
welfare  of,  the  prophet's  objective, 
137;  Yahweh  the  head  of  the 
religion  of  the,  139;  resulting 
position  of  prophets  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Yahweh,  139-140; 
the  life  of,  an  imperative  necessity 
to  the  existence  of  the  prophet, 
167. 

Steuernagel,  C,  cited,  125,  127. 

Syria,  prophets  and  prophecy  in, 
12-16. 

Syro-Ephraimite  invasion,  Isaiah's 
activities  at  time  of,  149-153. 

Temples  of  Jews  in  Egypt  and  Baby- 
lonia, 194. 

Toy,  C.  H.,  article  by,  cited,  112, 
116,  127. 

Tribe,  solidarity  of,  in  early  Israel, 
169-171;  influences  militating 
against  the,  and  toward  individual 
development,  174-189. 

True  prophets  distinguished  from 
false,  79-86. 

Villari,  Vie  de  Savonarola,  cited,  93. 
Visions  in  Assyrian  religion,  6-11. 
Volz,  Paul,  interpretation  of  signifi- 
cance of  Hosea's  marriage  by,  112. 

Wars,  services  of  early  prophets  in, 

53-57. 
Wenamon,  story  of  mission  of,  to 

Byblos,  12-13. 
Winckler,  H.,  work  by,  cited,  8. 
Wisdom   literature,   sources   of,   in 

early  period  of  Hebrew  history, 

177  71.,-    individualistic  trend   of, 

178. 

Xenophon,  account  by,  of  Silanus 
the  soothsayer,  92. 

Yahweh,  importance  of  service  ren- 
dered religion  of,  by  early  He- 
brew prophets,  48-58;  Micaiah's 
peculiar  view  of,  as  regards  false 
prophets,  63-65;  attitude  of  false 


244 


INDEX 


and  of  true  prophets  toward,  79- 
86;  oflGce  of  the  prophet,  as 
spokesman  of,  88;  a  prophet's 
absolute  surrender  to  the  will  of, 
illustrated  by  Hosea's  marriage, 
109-134;  the  head  of  the  Hebrew 
state  religion,  139;  position  of 
prophets  in  state  affairs  as  repre- 
sentatives of,  139-140;  the  claims 
of,  as  represented  and  enforced  by 
the  prophets,  164-166;  com- 
pounds of  name  "Yahweh"  in 
personal  names,  173;  conception 
of,  maintained  by  Ezekiel,  204- 


205;  strength  of  Isaiah's  faith  in, 
212-215;  ethics  the  supreme  con- 
cern of,  in  the  Hebrew  prophets* 
doctrine,  220-223. 

Zakar,  inscription  of,  showing  activ- 
ity of  prophets  in  Syria,  15-16. 

Zakar-Baal,  King  of  Byblos,  account 
of  a  prophetic  revelation  to,  12-15. 

Zechariah,  character  of  prophetic 
utterances  of,  98. 

Zephaniah,  world-devastating  cata- 
clysm predicted  by,  97;  political 
activities  of,  162. 


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